•    EXCHANGE 


Report  of  Proceedings 


ottttr 


Congress 


Sixteen fh  Annus !  Session 


'  pl^  PA* 

October  20-24,  J9! 3 


Published  by  tlie 

AMERICAH  MIKING  CONGRESS 
At  ttic  bffice  of  the 

Colorado 
1914 


CARL     SCHOLZ 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


Report  of  Proceedings 


OF  THE 


American  Mining 

i    »  C_J 

Congress 

Sixteenth  Annual  Session 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
October   20-24 

1913 


Published  by  the 

American  Mining  Congress 

At  the  Office  of  the  Secretary 

Denver,  Colorado 

1914 


PREVIOUS  SESSIONS  OF  CONGRESS. 


DATE. 

CITY. 

PRESIDENT. 

ADDRESS. 

1st 

July,    18971 

Denver,  Colo. 

Hon.  Alva  Adams, 

Pueblo,  Colo. 

1st 

July,    1897 

Denver,  Colo. 

Hon.  L.  Brandford  Prince, 

Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 

2d 

July,    1898 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Hon.  L.  Brandford  Prince, 

Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 

3d 

July,    1899* 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Col.  B.  F.  Montgomery, 

Cripple  Creek,  Colo. 

3d 

June,   1900 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Col.  B.  F.  Montgomery, 

Cripple  Creek,  Colo. 

4th 

July,    1901 

Boise,  Idaho. 

Hon.  L.  Brandford  Prince, 

Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 

Sth 

Sept.,  1902 

Butte,  Mont. 

E.  L.  Shafner, 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 

6th 

Sept.,  1903 

Deadwood  and 

Lead,  S.  D. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

7th 

Aug.,  1904 

Portland,  Ore. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

Sth 

Nov.,  1905 

El  Paso,  Texas. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

9th 

Oct.,    1906 

Denver,  Colo. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

10th 

Nov.,  1907 

Joplin,  Mo. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

llth 

Dec.,    1908 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

12th 

Oct.,    1909 

Goldfield,  Nev. 

Hon.  J.  H.  Richards, 

Boise,  Idaho. 

13th 

Oct.,    1910 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Dr.  E.  R.  Buckley, 

Rolla,  Mo. 

14th 

Oct.,    1911 

Chicago,  111. 

John  Dern, 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

15th 

Nov.,  1912 

Spokane,  Wash. 

Samuel  A.  Taylor, 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

16th 

Oct.,    1913 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

David  W.  Brunton, 

Denver,  Colo. 

1  Temporary. 

a  Passed  to  June,  1900. 


INDEX 


Alaskan   Question,   Report   on. . . 43 

Amendments  to   By-Laws,   Appointment   of   Committee  on 90 

Auditing   Committee,    Report   of 108 

Coal  Mining  Legislation,  Report  of  Committee  on 68 

Credentials,   Committee  on 26 

Financial   Statement   of   Secretary 108 

Interstate  Trade  Commission,  Draft  of  a  Bill 69 

Members,  Adjourned  Meeting  of 110 

Members,  Annual  Meeting  of 108 

Mining  Investments,  Report  of  Committee  on 52 

Nominations,   Report  of  Committee  on 110 

Resolutions,    Committee    on 40 

Report  of 91,  93,  97,     98 

Revision  of  Mineral  Land  Laws,  Report  of  Committee  on 45 

Standardization  of  Electrical  Equipment  in  Coal  Mines,  Report  of  Committee  on 77 

Ways  and  Means,  Report  of  Committee  on 77 

SPEAKERS. 

Bartlett,   C.    O Debate  on  Mine  Accounting 41,     42 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 57 

Boland,   W.   P Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  Report  of ..78-84 

Broman,    Isadore    J The  State  of  Texas  and  Its  Resources 21 

Brunton,  D.  W Committee  on  Amendments  to  By-Laws,  Appointment  of..     90 

Response  to  Address  of   Welcome 16 

President's  Annual  Address Ill 

Burton,  John  R The  Greatest  Mine  in  the  World 19 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.   15 106 

Debate   on  Resolution  No.   n 98,     99 

Debate   on  Resolution  No.   12 99-104 

Callbreath,  J.  F.,  Tr Reads  Paper  on  Mine  Taxation,  by  Hon.  D.  L.   Webb..     28 

Announcements. 26,  27,  28,  34,  35,  40,  55,  56,  72,  76 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 57-60 

Debate   on  Resolution  No.   12 99-104 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.   n 98,     99 

Announces  Officers  and  Directors  for  Ensuing  Year 96 

Reads  Report  on  Alaskan  Question 43 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.      7 92-97 

Carey,    Hon.    Joseph    M The  Mining  Convention  and  Its  Influence  for  Good 24 

Cattell,    Edward   James Address  of  Welcome  on  behalf  of  Mayor  of  Philadelphia.  10-16 

Chance,  Dr.  H.  M Amendment  to  By-laws,  Ap-pointment  of  Committees  on. .     84 

Mine    Taxation    32,  339 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  Report  of  ..78-84 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  15 106 

Crane,  Dr.  W.  R The  Coal  Resources  of  Alaska 39,  192 

Fluker,   W.    H Response  to  Address  of  Welcome 17 

Gold  Mining  in  Georgia 72,  216 

Foster,  Dr.  Martin  D The  Federal  Government  and  the  Mining  Industry 72,  370 

Debate  on  Federal  Government  and  Mining  Industry       73-76 

Foster,    Ruf us   J Debate  on  Federal  Government  and  Mining  Industry . . .  73-76 

Griffith,  William   Report  of  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 77 

Debate   on  Resolution  No.   12 99-104 

Debate   on   Taxation   of  Mining  Property.... 29-33 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means    Report  of  .  .78-84 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  15 106 

Hoffecker,  B.  F What  is  the  Matter  With  the  Coal  Mining  Industry  (by 

John    W,    Boileau) 60,  375 

Hornberger,  J.  B.  L Mine  Accounting 41,  363 

Jennings,     Hennen     Calls  Meeting  to  Order 53 

Debate   on  Resolution  No.   12 99-104 

Debate  on  Mine  Accounting 41,     42 

Debate  on   Resolution  No.   II 98,     99 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  Report  of  ..78-84 

Lamb,  Walter  C Something  About  Nevada 20 

Lawrie,   H.   N Development  of  the  State  of  Oregon 20 

Malcomson,   James  W ..Debate   on   Taxation   of  Mining  Property 29-33 

Maloney,  William A  Few  Facts  About  Alaska.-. 16 

Maurer,    Charles    E Response  to  Address   of    Welcome 19 

Debate  on  Mine  Accounting 41,     42 

Debate  on  Arbitration  in  the  Mining  Industry 85-90 

Moderwell,  C.   M Coal  Mine  Legislation 68 

Debate   on  Mine  Accounting ..41,     42 

Debate  on  Relation  of  Big  Business  to  Industrial  Pros- 
perity     54,     55 


278415 


4  INDEX 

Moorshead,  A.  J Debate  on  The  Coal  Mining  Industry 61-66 

Norris,   R.   V Taxation  of  Mining  Property 28,  331 

Norman,  Sidney Debate  on  Resolution  No.  12 99-104 

Norwood,   C.   I Resources  of  Kentucky 18 

Debate  on  Federal  Government  and  Mining  Industry       73-76 

Parker,    Dr.    E.    W The  Cost  of  Coal  Mining 60,  384 

Debate  on  Relation  of  Big  Business  to  Industrial  Pros- 
perity     54,     55 

Parsons,  Dr.  C.  W The  Radium  Situation 76,  223 

Paul,  J.  W Mine  Rescue  and  First  Aid  Operations 36,  281 

Quealy,    P.    J Wyoming,  Its  Citizenship  and  the  Nation 25 

Reed,  Thomas  T Debate  on  Federal  Government  and  Mining  Industry ..  .73-76 

Rice,    George    S Mine  Recovery  Work 36 

Debate  on  Mine  Accounting 41,     42 

Robinson,   Neil    West  Virginia  and  the  Mining  Congress 23 

Ross,  David   On  the  Alaskan  Question 43 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  14 105 

Rushmore,  David  D The  Industrial  Corporation  and  Scientific  Research 44,  265 

Ryan,   Debate  on  Resolution  No.     7 92-97 

Sargent,  E.  C Use  of  Concrete  in  Mining  Operations 39,  249 

Scholz,  Carl  Accepts  Gavel  and  Assumes  the  Office  of  President 91 

Debate  on  The  Coal  Mining  Industry 61-66 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.   n 98,     99 

Shafroth,  Senator  John  F... Federal  Administration  of  Public  Land  Laws 48,   165 

Debate  on  Federal  Administration  of  Land  Laws 48-52 

Smith,  George  Otis Plain  Talks  47,  154 

Debate  on  Federal  Administration  of  Land  Laws 48-52 

Smyth,   Dr.   H.   L Debate   on   Taxation   of  Mining  Property 29-33 

Storrs,  Arthur  H Debate  on  Arbitration  in  the  Mining  Industry 85-90 

Taylor,  S.  A Committee   on    Ways  and  Means,   Motion   for  Appoint- 
ment of 57 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  n 98,     99 

Calls  Meeting  to  Order 27 

Uniform  Reports 34,  303 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  14 105 

Debate  on  Relation  of  Big  Business  to  Industrial  Pros- 
perity     54,     55 

Debate  on  Resolution  No.  12 99-104 

Debate  on  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 57-60 

Valatt,  Debate  on   Taxation  of  Mining  Property 29-33 

Van  Barneveld,  Charles  E. . .  On  Dr.  Webb's  Statement  Regarding  Mine  Taxation 28 

The    Mineral    Division    of    the    Panama-Pacific    Exposi- 
tion     56,  213 

Van  Hise,  Dr.  Charles  R The  Relation  of  Big  Business  to  Industrial  Prosperity.. 54,  391 

Wigton,    F.    H Opening   of   Convention. 9 

Willard,  H.   E Debate  on  Arbitration  in  the  Mining  Industry 85-90 

Wilson,   H.   M General  Mining  Co-operation 35 

Mine  Recovery  Work 37 

Wilson,  William  B Arbitration  as  a  Factor  in  the  Mining  Industry 85,  274 

Debate  on  Arbitration  in  the  Mining  Industry 85-90 


INDEX 


ADDRESSES. 

Annual  Address  of  President David  W.  Brunton,  Denver,  Colo.  Ill 

Industrial  Progress  of  the  United  States Dr.  James  Douglas,  New  York  121 

Plain  Talk , George  Otis  Smith,   Washington,  D.  C.  154 

Conservation  from  the  Western  Standpoint, 

Hon.  John  F.  Shafroth,  Senator  from  Colorado  165 
Needed  Changes  in  Our  Mineral  Land  Laws, 

Hon.  Thomas  J.  Walsh,  Senator  from  Montana  175 

Public  Land  Laws,  The Hon.  A.  A.  Jones,  Washington,  D.  C.  185 

Administration  of  Our  Public  Land  Laws Clay   Tollman,    Washington,  D.   C.  188 

Coal  Resources  of  Alaska,  The W.  R.  Crane,  State  College,  Pa.  192 

Alaskan  Situation,  The Falcon  Joslin,  Fairbanks,  Alaska  206 

Pan-Pacific  International  Exposition.  .Charles  E.   Van  Barneveld,  San  Francisco,  Cal.  213 

Gold  Mining  in  Georgia W.  H.  Fluker,  Thomson,  Ga.  216 

Our  Radium  Resources Charles  L.  Parsons,   Washington,  D.  C.  223 

Workmen's  Compensation  vs.  Employers'  Liability,  Samuel  A.  Taylor,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  235 

Compensation  Laws  and  Accident  Prevention  Work David  Ross,  Springfield,  III.  239 

Use  of  Concrete  in  Mine  Operation E.  C.  Sargent,  Chicago,  III.  249 

A  Defense  of  the  Flame  Safety  Mine  Lamp E.  A.  Hailwood,  England  258 

Industrial  Corporation  and  Scientific  Research,  The, 

David  B.  Rushmore,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  265 

Arbitration  as  a  Factor  in  the  Mining  Industry,  William  B.  Wilson,  Washington,  D,  C.  274 

Mine  Rescue  and  First  Aid  Operations J.   W.  Paul,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  281 

Storage  and  Handling  of  Explosives  in  Mines,  Charles  E.  Munroe,  Washington,  D.  C.  288 

Use  and  Abuse  of  Explosives,  The Robert  W.  Gunnell,  Pottsville,  Pa.  298 

Uniform  Reports S.  A.  Taylor,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  303 

Taxation  of  Coal  Lands,  The R.  V.  N  orris,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.  331  - 

Mine  Taxation H.  M.  Chance,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  339 

Taxation  of  Mining  Property,  The D.  L.  Webb,  Denver,  Colo.  345 

Mining  Investments W.  R.  Allen,  Butte,  Mont.  356  - 

Mining  Costs J.  B.  L.  Hornberger,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  363  - 

Federal  Government  and  the  Mining  Industry,  The, 

Hon.  M.  D.  Foster,  Washington,  D.  C.  370 

What  is  the  Matter  With  the  Mining  Industry? John  W.  Boileau,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  375 

Lessons  of  the  Year  in  Our  Mining  Industry, 

Dr.  Joseph  A.  Holmes,   Washington,  D.  C.  380 

Cost  of  Coal  Mining,  The Edward  W.  Parker,  Washington,  D.  C.  384 

Relation  of  Big  Business  to  Industrial  Prosperity,  With  Special  Reference  to  Mining, 

Dr.  Charles  A.  Fan  Rise,  Madison,  Wis.  391 


RESOLUTIONS 

No.  SUBJECT.                                 INTRODUCED  BY       PAGE.  DISPOSITION.       PAGE. 

1  Dishonest   Operations    Sidney  Norman 45    Adopted    47 

2  Mineral   Mine  Laws David  W.   Brunton 53    Adopted    91 

3  Valuation  of  Mining  Property..  Charles   E.   Maurer 54    Adopted    91 

4  Mine  Reports    Samuel  A.   Taylor 56    Adopted    91 

5  Federal  Aid  to  Mining  Schools.  H.  M.   Lawrie 76    Adopted    91 

6  Anti-Trust   Laws    Charles  E.    Maurer 76  Ad'pt'd  as  Amended     92 

7  Alaska  Land   Laws William  Maloney 92  Ad'pt'd  as  Amended     92 

8  Corporation  Income  Tax  Law..  John  E.  Patton 97    Adopted     97 

9  Loss  of  Life  in  Dawson  Mine..  R.   Dawson   Hall 97    Adopted    97 

10  Thanks Com.    on  Resolutions . .  97    Adopted    97 

11  Fraud    John    R.     Burton 99    Tabled   99 

12  Securities    John  R.  Burton 99    Lost    102 

13  Mines   and   Mining David  W.   Brunton 104    Adopted     104 

14  Industrial   Injuries    David  Ross 105  Ad'pt'd  as  Amended   106 

15  Fraud    Sidney  Norman 99    Tabled    107 


OFFICIAL  ROSTER,  1914 

OFFICERS. 

CARL  SCHOLZ,  President.  M.   S.   KEMMERER,   Second   Vice-Pres. 

HENNEN  JENNINGS,  Firse  Vice-President.  HARRY  L.  DAY,  Third  Vice-President. 
J.   F.   CALLBREATH,    Secretary,   Denver,   Colo. 

DIRECTORS. 

SAMUEL  A.  TAYLOR,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  W.  J.  RICHARDS,  Pottsville,  Pa. 

D.  W.  BRUNTON,  Denver,  Colo.  CARL  SCHOLZ,  Chicago,  111. 
HENNEN  JENNINGS,  Washington,  D.  C.  HARRY  N.   TAYLOR,   Chicago,   111. 

E.  A.  MONTGOMERY,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  JOHN  MAYER,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
M,  S.  KEMMERER,  New  York.  *W.   G.   CONRAD,   Helena,   Mont. 
JAMES   DOUGLAS,  New  York  City.  GEORGE  H.   DERN,   Salt  Lake  City,   Utah. 

HARRY   L.    DAY,   Wallace,   Idaho. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

CARL  SCHOLZ,  Chicago,  111.  D.   W.   BRUNTON,   Denver,   Colo. 
HARRY  N.  TAYLOR,  Chicago,  111. 

•Deceased. 


OFFICIAL  ROSTER,  1913 


OFFICERS,  1913. 

President— DAVID  W.   BRUNTON,   Denver,   Colo. 
First  Vice-President— HENNEN  JENNINGS,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Second   Vice-President— E.    A.    MONTGOMERY,    Los   Angeles,    Cal. 
Third   Vice-President— CARL   SCHOLZ,   Chicago,   111. 
Secretary— J.   F.  CALLBREATH,  Denver,   Colo. 

DIRECTORS. 
SAMUEL  A.  TAYLOR,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.         CARL  SCHOLZ,  Chicago,   111. 

D.  W.  BRUNTON,  Denver,  Colo.  HARRY  N.  TAYLOR,  Chicago,  111. 
HENNEN  JENNINGS,  First  Vice-President.    JOHN  MAYER,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

E.  A.  MONTGOMERY,  Los  Angeles.  W.  G.  CONRAD,  Helena,  Mont. 
CHARLES  A.   BARLOW,  Bakersfield.             GEORGE  H.  DERN,  Salt  Lake  City. 
JAMES  DOUGLAS,  New  York  City.               HARRY   L.   DAY,  Wallace  Idaho. 

W.  B.   SHACKELFORD,  Joplin,  Mo. 

STATE  VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

Alabama— L.  B.  MUSGROVE,  Birmingham.  Oklahoma— DR.  C.  N.  GOULD,  Norman. 

Alaska— COL.  B.  F.  MILLARD,  Valdez.  Oregon— JUDGE  T.  C.  BURKE,  Baker  City. 

Arizona— JUDGE  R.  E.  SLOAN,  Phoenix.  South  Carolina— H.   L.  SCAIFE,  Clinton. 

Arkansas— A.  W.  ESTES,  Little  Rock.  South   Dakota— T.   J.   GRIER. 

California— H.  F.  BAIN.  San  Francisco.  Tennessee — CHARLES    H.    SMITH, 

Canada— H.  H.   LANG,  Cobalt,  Ont.  Chattanooga. 

Colorado— A.   L.   WILFLEY,   Denver.  Utah— D.   MACVICHIE,    Salt  Lake  City. 

Georgia— E.   L.  MARTIN,  Macon.  Virginia— VAN    NESS    HEERMANCE, 

Idaho— H.   F.   SAMUELS,  Wallace.  Rocky   Mount. 

Illinois— E.   T.  BENT,  Chicago.  Washington— G.    B.    DENNIS,    Spokane. 

Kansas— DR.    ERASMUS    HAWORTH,  West    Virginia— DR.    I.    C.    WHITE, 

Lawrence.  Morgantown. 

Montana— EDWARD  HORSKY,  Helena.  Wisconsin— GEORGE    L.    JARRETT, 
Missouri— COL.  H.  H.  GREGG,  Joplin.  Platteville. 

New  Mexico— C.  T.  BROWN,  Socorro.  Wyoming— JUDGE  M.  N.  GRANT,  Laramie. 
New  York— J.  R.  BURTON,  New  York. 

COMMITTEES,   1913. 

EXECUTIVE. 

D.  W.    BRUNTON,  H.    N.    TAYLOR,  CARL    SCHOLZ. 

GENERAL   REVISION    OF   MINERAL    LAND    LAWS. 

Alaska— L.   V.   RAY.  Nevada— D.    C.    McDONALD. 

Arizona— WILL  L.  CLARK.  New   Mexico— J.   J.   MURRAY. 

California— J.  ROSS  CLARK.  Oregon— THOMAS   C.   BURKE. 

Colorado— BULKELEY    WELLS.  Oklahoma— DR.   C,  N.   GOULD. 

Idaho— E.   M.   HEIGHO.  South  Dakota— I.  A.   WEBB. 

Montana— CORNELIUS    KELLY.  Utah— F.  J.  HAGENBARTH. 

Missouri — E.   B.   KIRBY.  Washington— MATT   BAUMGARTNER. 
Minnesota— HORACE   V.    WINCHELL. 

FEDERAL    LEGISLATION. 

Metal    Mining    Affairs. 

JESSE  KNIGHT,   Prove,   Utah,   Chairman. 

C.   E.   LOOSE,  Provo,   Utah.  L.  K.  ARMSTRONG,  Spokane,  Wash. 

COL.  J.  A.  EDE,  La  Salle,  111.  JOHN  GILLE,   Butte,   Mont. 

Alaskan   Affairs. 

FALCON   JOSLIN,    Fairbanks,    Alaska,    Chairman. 

J.  L.  STEELE,  Landlock,  Alaska.  D.  M.   STEWART,  Seward,  Alaska. 

T.  P.  McDONALD,  Seattle,  Wash.  H.   R.    HARRIMAN,    Seattle,   Wash. 

Coal    Mining    Affairs. 

WALTER  M.    BOGLE,   Fisher   Bldg.,  CHARLES  M.  MODERWELL,  Chicago,  111., 

Chicago,   111.,   Chairman.  Treasurer. 

E.  R.   SWEENEY,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  THOMAS  W.   DAVIS,   Saginaw,  Mich. 


8  OFFICERS  AND  COMMITTEES,  1913 

Prevention   of   Mine   Accidents. 
W.  R.  INGALLS,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  Chairman. 

DR.  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  New  York.  J.  R.  FINLAY,  New  York. 

J.   P.   CHANNING,   New   York.  JOHN   HAYS   HAMMOND,   New   York. 

Workmen's  Compensation. 

JOHN  H.   JONES,  Pittsburgh,   Pa.,   Chairman. 

DAVID   ROSS,    Springfield,   111.  W.    R.    WOODFORD,    Cleveland,    Ohio. 

J.  W.   DAWSON,  Charleston,  W.  Va.  THOMAS  L.  LEWIS,  Bridgeport,  Ohio. 

STANDARDIZATION  OF  ELECTRICAL  EQUIPMENT. 

In   Coal  Mines. 

GEORGE  R.   WOOD,  Philadelphia,   Pa.,   Chairman. 

SAMUEL  A.  TAYLOR,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.         H.  M.  WARREN,  Scranton,  Pa. 
J.  R.  BENT,  Oglesby,  111.  G.   A.    SCHREIER,   Diveraon,   111. 

G.  T.  WATSON,  Fairmount,  W.  Va.  W.  A.  THOMAS,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Metal  Mines. 

H.    S.    SANDS,    Denver,    Colo.,    Chairman. 
FRANK  E.   SHEPARD,  Denver,  Colo.  C.  A.  CHASE,  Denver,  Colo. 

Mineral  Statistics. 

GEORGE  W.  RITER,   Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  Chairman. 
OTTO  RUHL,  Joplin,  Mo.  FREDERICK  BURBIDGE,   Spokane,  Wash. 

Forestry  Relations. 

HENRY  I.  SEEMAN,  Denver,  Colo.,  Chairman. 
E.  A.  COLBURN,  Denver,  Colo.  ROBERT  L.   MARTIN,   Denver,   Colo. 

Bureau  of  Mines. 

SEELEY  W.  MUDD,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.          HAROLD  N.   LAWRIE,  Portland,   Ore. 
M.  J.   FALKENBURG,   Seattle,  Wash.  A.  H.  HARRISON,  Silverton,  Colo. 

E.    P.    SPAULDING,    Spokane,    Wash. 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

DR.  H.  FOSTER  BAIN,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Chairman. 

DR.  R.  D.  GEORGE,  Boulder,  Colo.  J.  W.  MALCOLMSON,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

TL  C.  GEMMELL,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Ore  Treatment  Charges. 

E.   M.   DE  LA  VERGNE,   Colorado  Springs,   Colo.,  Chairman. 

BULKELEY  WELLS,  Telluride,  Colo.  W.  MONT  FERRY,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

S.  E.  BRETHERTON,  San  Francisco,  Cal.     HENRY  P.  LOWE,  Central  City,  Colo. 

Transportation. 

HARRY  JOSEPH,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  Chairman. 
IMER  PETT,   Salt  Lake  City,   Utah. 

Mining  Investments. 

W.  R,  ALLEN,  Butte,  Mont.,  Chairman. 

WM.    SCALLON,   Helena,   Mont.  LYMAN  A.  SISLEY,  Chicago,  HI. 

R,  F.  COLLINS,  Spokane,  Wash.  EDWIN  O.  HOLTER,  New  York  City. 

Organization  Committee. 

Alaska— J.  L.  STEELE.  Oregon— H.   N.   LAWRIE. 

Arizona— GEORGE   U.   YOUNG.  Ontario— R.   W.   BROCK. 

British  Columbia— H.   B.   BROWN.  New  Mexico— T.    H.    O'BRIEN. 

California— GRANT  H.  TOD.  New  York— D.   M.   RIORDAN. 

Colorado— ALLAN   BURRIS.  Nevada— JULES  LABARTHE 

Idaho— H.  F.  SAMUELS.  Oklahoma— J.    P.    McNAUGHTON 

Illinois— DAVID  ROSS.  Oregon— H.    M.   PARKS. 

Kentucky— HYWEL   DAVIES.  South  Dakota— R.    L.    DAUGHERTY. 

Mexico— L.    R.    BUDROW.  Texas— S.   J.   BROMAN. 

Michigan— JAMES  B.   COOPER.  Utah— JOSEPH  F.  MERRILL. 

Minnesota— W.  J.   OLCOTT.  Virginia— E.   A.   SCHUBERT,  'Roanoke. 

Missouri— JOHN   M.   MALANG.  Washington— MAURICE    D.    LEEHEY 

Montana— W.  R.  ALLEN.  Wisconsin— GEORGE  L.  JARRETT 

Ohio-C.   S.  JOHNSON. 


REPORT  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS 

OF    THE 

Sixteenth  Annual  Session  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress. 


Believue-Stratford  Hotel,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
October  20-24,   1913. 


MONDAY,  OCTOBER  20,  1913. 

Opening  Session 
2.00  O'Clock  P.  M. 

The  Congress  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  F.  H.  Wigton,  chairman, 
Local  Executive  Committee. 

CHAIRMAN  WIGTON:  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Mining  Con- 
gress: It  is  a  well-known  adage  that  the  best  is  reserved  until  the  last. 
In  this  case  it  is  not  violated,  as  you  are  not  receiving  the  best  at  the  opening. 

As  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  in  Philadelphia  we  welcome 
you  members  of  this  American  Mining  Congress  to  this  city.  You  have  come 
from  all  over  this  wide  land  to  consider  questions  which  are  of  vital 
import  to  the  industries  of  the  United  States.  Oftentimes  mining  is  rather 
slurred  upon,  because  in  the  public  prints  there  nre  so  many  other  things 
which  appear  openly  to  the  people,  whereas  mining  is  conducted  underground, 
and  little  is  known  comparatively  of  the  dangers,  the  difficulties  and  the  haz- 
ards which  surround  that  industry.  The  industries  which  you  represent  are  the 
underlying  foundation  of  the  civilization,  and  all  the  industries  of  this  coun- 
try and  of  the  civilized  world. 

You  represent  gold  and  silver,  the  tokens  which  pass  current  as  the 
evidence  of  accumulated  wealth,  which  is  in  reality  stored  labor.  You  repre- 
sent iron,  tin  and  lead,  all  of  \yhich  are  essential  in  the  upbuilding  and  prog- 
ress of  civilization,  but  it  is  fitting,  in  "this  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  probably 
is  the  greatest  centre  of  the  coal  mining  industry  of  the  United  States,  to 
speak  a  word  upon  that  which  you  also  represent.  That  is  possibly  the 
keynote  of  all  the  industries,  for  without  fuel  you  cannot  produce  gold,  silver, 
iron,  copper  nor  tin.  Without  fuel  you  cannot  run  railroads,  carry  on 
manufacturing  plants,  light  your  houses,  warm  yourselves,  and  of  all  the 
mining  industries,  probably  coal  is  most  slurred  upon. 

You  gentlemen  who  produce,  or  are  the  representatives  of  the  pro- 
ducers of  gold  and  silver  have  before  the  people  those  glittering  products 
which  promptly  attract  attention.  In  tin  and  copper,  you  see  them  in  the 
household  utensils.  You  see  them  all  about  you.  In  iron,  your  railroads, 
your  buildings— everything  that  is  necessary  to  life  almost  is  so  represented, 
but  coal,  that  dark,  dirty,  unpleasant  substance  to  handle,  is  rather  apt  t« 


10 

be  overlooked.  It  is  put  in  the  cellar,  out  of  sight  and  is  only  brought  forth 
when  it  is  absolutely  needed.  It  is  not  stored  in  quantities  for  future  use 
beyond  a  very  small  amount.  People  do  not  want  it  until  they  are  forced 
to  have  it  to  drive  the  trains  across  the  country,  to  warm  the  houses,  and 
to  run  manufacturing  plants. 

Without  intending  to  slur  the  gentlemen  of  the  newspapers,  who  are 
apt  to  represent  to  the  public  what  they  think  the  public  will  want,  they  have 
been  inclined  to  lead  the  public  to  think  in  the  production  of  coal,  if  it  sells 
for  $2.00,  that  about  a  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  of  that  is  profit  to  the 
coal  operator.  There  probably  has  been  no  better  opportunity  than  will  arise 
through  this  Congress  to  enlighten  the  people,  not  only  of  this  city,  but 
throughout  the  United  States,  of  the  hazards  and  difficulties  that  surround  the 
coal  trade,  and  also  to  let  them  know  something  of  the  truth,  because  the 
truth  is  best  for  all,  and  is  what  we  want  the  people  to  know,  and  in  that 
way  they  may  arrive  at  a  more  just  understanding  of  the  difficulties  in  the 
mining  of  coal,  as  well  in  the  mining  of  all  other  minerals. 

These  meetings  will  be  filled  with  discussions  upon  technical  subjects, 
but  it  is  always  well  to  give  expression  of  views  as  to  the  value  which  thes^ 
substances  possess  to  the  community  at  large,  and  all  the  difficulties  sur- 
rounding the  industries  themselves.  In  other  words,  the  effort  is  to  lead 
the  people  to  know  something  about  mining  as  an  industry  and  to  readilv 
appreciate  it. 

Gentlemen,  on  behalf  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Executive  Committee, 
I  bid  you  welcome,  and  we  trust  after  your  deliberations  have  been  con- 
cluded, and  when  the  time  comes  for  your  departure,  which  we  will  all 
regret,  you  will  leave  with  a  pleasant  feeling  and  delightful  associations, 
urging  you  for  an  early  return  to  this  city  of  Brotherly  Love.  Gentlemen, 
I  bid  you  welcome.  (APPLAUSE). 

Gentlemen,  I  desire  to  introduce  the  representative  of  the  Mayor  of 
Philadelphia,  Mr.  Edward  James  Cattell,  City  Statistician, -who  will  address 
you  in  his  Honor's  behalf. 

MR.  CATTELL:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress :  His  Honor,  Mayor  Blankenbuig,  being  ill  and  out  of  the 
city,  at  his  request  I  appear  as  his  substitute  on  the  program  to  bid  you 
welcome  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  say  that  from  his  heart,  and 
from  the  hearts  of  more  than  a  million  six  hnndre<i  and  fifty  thousand 
people  who  call  Philadelphia  home,  there  goes  out  to  you  a  very  sincere 
welcome. 

The  old  Mother  City  of  the  Republic  has  the  hc.ppy  faculty  of  re- 
newing her  youth,  and  although  credited  with  230  years  of  corporate  exist- 
ence, shows  in  her  latest  records  the  building  of  a  new  home  every  sixty 
minutes  of  every  day  of  the  year,  thus  testifying  a  greater  virility  than 
at  any  other  period  in  her  great  history. 

The  welcome,  therefore,  which  I  bring  from  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  a  city  truly  American  in  the  broadest  and  deepest  sense  of  the  words, 
because  it  is  a  city  of  homes,  a  city  of  busy  people,  a  city  of  thrifty  people, 
a  city  wherein  the  old-fashioned  American  habit  of  living  within  income  is 
the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  This  question  of  thrift  lends  a  special 
value,  it  seems  to  me,  to  this  official  welcome  to  your  great  Mining  Congress, 
because  due  to  that  early  formed  habit  to  thrift,  at  the  instigation  of  William: 
Penn,  the  founder;  due  also  to  our  continued  loyalty  through  our  more 
than  two  hundred  years  to  the  early  custom  of  clean  living,  of  industrious 
living,  of  thrifty  Hving,  Philadelphia  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  have 
always  found  themselves  in  possession  each  year  of  an  ever-increasing  sum 
for  re-investment  in  enterprises  within  the  boundaries  of  city  and  State,  and 
also  for  investment  far  beyond  the  limits  of  either  city  or  State. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  annual  ability  to  take  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  others,  to  provide  capital  for  the  development  of  the  resources  in  other 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  11 

parts  of  the  world,  Philadelphia  has  always  extended  a  welcome  to  the 
mining  engineer  and  those  great  enterprises  in  the  serving  of  which  he  has 
made  the  world  so  much  his  debtor. 

Speaking,  then,  for  the  Honorable  Rudolph  Blankenburg,  Mayor  of 
Philadelphia,  I  bid  you  a  cordial  welcome  to  Philadelphia,  and  trust  that 
when  you  leave  this  dear  old  city  you  will  not  only  carry  away  a  more  exact 
idea  of  its  peculiar  claims  to  greatness,  but  carry  also  in  your  heart  of 
hearts  a  very  real  affection  for  its  home-loving,  home-living,  home-protecting 
citizenship. 

\Vhile  I  regret  extremely  the  illness  of  His  Honor,  which  places  upon 
me  the  responsibility  of  thus  welcoming  you  to  my  native  city,  there  is, 
however,  an  under  current  of  pleasure  through  the  circumstances  that  I  am, 
in  acting  as  the  Mayor's  substitute,  giving  a  personal  welcome  to  Philadel- 
phia to  an  old  friend  and  associate  in  mining  affairs  far  back  in  1876— 
the  year  which  saw  the  entrance  into  the  union  of  the  State  of  Colorado. 
Mr.  Brunton,  your  president,  and  myself  occupied  the  same  room  in  the 
same  office  of  a  mining  company,  with  which  we  were  both  associated 
in  Caribou,  Colorado,  seven  and  thirty  years  ago;  and,  strange  to  say,  as 
each  has  led  a  wandering  life  since  then— a  life  which  has  carried  us  all 
over  the  world,  we  have  never  come  face  to  face  until  today.  And  so  this 
meeting  brings  me  the  handicap  of  one  associated  with  early  and  happy 
days — a  man  who,  by  his  enthusiastic  talk  concerning  the  profession  which 
had  his  heart,  as  well  as  his  head,  in  bondage,  first  kindled  in  me  a  love 
for  a  science  which  has  since  been  the  solace  of  many  hours.  And  I 
would  like,  here  and  now,  to  thank  him  for  helpful  impulses  and  for  a 
turn  to  my  inclinations  in  the  matter  of  study  which  have  resulted  in  great 
benefit  to  myself  and,  I  hope,  through  me,  to  others. 

Dropping  the  personal  note  and  passing  to  the  general,  I  would  like 
to  refer  once  more  to  the  special  claim  which  Philadelphia  has  to  your 
respect — yes,  even  to  your  affection.  I  would  like  also,  if  possible,  to 
controvert  with  a  few  facts  the  top  common  impression  that  Philadelphia 
is  a  city  that  was,  rather  than  a  city  that  is ;  a  city  with  a  glorious  past, 
instead  of  a  city  with  a  splendid  present  and  the  prospect  of  a  still  more 
glorious  future.  We  are  too  often  referred  to  as  the  home  of  the  State 
House  and  the  Liberty  Bell — too  seldom  referrd  to  as  the  home  of  the 
Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  an  organization  employing  19,000  men,  which 
is  equivalent  to  supporting  a  city  of  95,000  people;  too  frequently  alluded  to 
in  the  casual  talk  as  a  place  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
written — too  seldom  referred  to  as  a  city  wherein  16,000  manufacturing 
establishments  call  into  existence  211  lines  of  manufacture  out  of  the  246 
enumerations  used  by  the  United  States  census ;  a  city  too  generally  regarded 
as  the  home  city  of  a  small  body  of  men  who,  137  years  ago,  promulgated 
the  Declaration  of  Independence — too  little  regarded  now  as  a  city  wherein 
300,000  skilled  labor  live  and  labor  today  under  conditions  of  home  life  and 
factory  environment  without  parallel  in  any  other  city  in  the  world.  For 
there  are  more  establishments  in  Philadelphia  having  five  hundred  and  over 
employes  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world;  while  the  average  capitaliza- 
tion of  our  manufacturing  establishments  is  a  considerable  per  cent,  greater 
than  the  capitalization  of  any  other  manufacturing  city.  Forty  per  cent, 
of  our  skilled  labor  reside  in  their  own  homes,  and  in  one  saving  institution 
in  this  city  there  are  286,000  separate  wage-earning  accounts,  with  a  gross 
deposit  exceeding  one  hundred  and  eight  million  dollars.  Indeed,  we  have 
one  saving  account  in  this  city  for  every  fourth  man,  woman  and  child  of 
our  1,650,000  population.  I  revert  to  this  subject  because  I  feel  that  much 
of  the  under-estimation  of  Philadelphia  prevailing  today  is  due  to  a  lack 
of  knowledge  of  peculiar  local  conditions ;  is  due  also  to  the  over-shadowing 
value  of  our  historical  treasures  such  as  Independence  Hall  and  the  Liberty 
Bell,  and  as  these  belong  to  the  far-away  past,  we  have  dropped  out  of 
consideration  as  a  factor  in  the  living  now. 


12  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

Many  years  ago  a  man  sold  me  a  norse  on  the  plea  that  it  would 
travel  sixteen  miles  an  hour.  I  bought  this  ho:se  and  found  the  guarantee 
correct.  Unfortunately,  the  horse  in  traveling  sixteen  miles  an  hour  traveled 
twelve  of  them  up  and  down  and  only  four  miles  straight  ahead.  This  is 
not  Philadelphia's  way  of  traveling;  consequently,  we  have  not  acquired  a 
reputation  for  excessive  business  common,  to  many  communities.  Not  long 
ago,  in  Minneapolis,  a  friend  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Cattell,  let  us  go  out  to 
the  Lake."  I  said:  "What  do  you  do  when  you  get  there?"  His  answer 
was  "Find  out  how  you  can  get  back."  This  desire  to  appear  busy  is  charac- 
teristic of  certain  communities  as  well  as  individuals  and  often  wins  for  them 
temporary  credit.  We,  in  Philadelphia,  work  along  different  lines.  We  are 
apt  to  consider  carefully  our  plans,  and  when  such  plans  are  perfected,  go 
at  their  prosecution  or  carrying-out  in  energetic  fashion,  but  without  brass 
band  accompaniment.  The  wisdom  of  this  fidelity  to  ideals  and  ideas  within 
the  region  of  the  practical  was  brought  home  to  me  by  a  little  incident  during 
a  recent  Southern  trip.  I  had  gone  to  a  small,  local  station,  on  the  off  chance 
that  the  express  for  Atlanta  would  stop  there,  enabling  me  to  proceed  on  my 
journey  some  hours  ahead  of  the  regular  schedule  of  the  local  train.  My 
only  companions  at  the  station  were  a  negro  and  a  dog.  The  express  came  in 
sight,  dashed  through  the  station  without  stopping, — as  my  negro  friend  said : 
"It  didn't  even  hesitate."  As  the  train  flew  through  the  station  the  dog  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  dashed  madly  down  the  track  Five  minutes  later  he  re- 
turned, dropped  exhausted  and  panting  on  the  piarform.  "Is  that  your  dog? ' 
I  asked  the  negro.  He  said :  "No  boss.  I  come  down  every  day  to  meet 
the  train  and  he  does  the  same,  and  every  day  he  chases  down  the  track  in 
fust  that  way  after  the  train."  "Haven't  you  often  wondered  whose  dog  he 
was?"  I  asked.  "No,"  answered  my  friend,  "but  I've  often  wondered  what 
in  thunder  he  would  do  with  the  train  if  he  caught  it."  A  great  many  men 
in  a  great  many  communities — perhaps  a  few  associations  and  Congresses 
like  this — have  certain  lines  of  ideals  and  plans  of  wcrk  too  ambitious  i» 
character — indeed  so  ambitious  in  character  that  they  could  not  utilize  them 
did  fortune  bring  them  in  touch. 

Philadelphia,  as  I  remarked  a  moment  age,  is  a  vital  factor  in  the 
United  States  of  today — a  factor  which,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  will  prove 
of  increasing  importance  during  the  on-coming  decade,  because  we  stand 
for  a  simpler  habit  of  life,  a  more  economical  home  expenditure,  a  more 
regular  setting  aside  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  income,  in  the  way  of 
saving  for  the  future  than  may  be  found  in  any  other  large  American  city. 
There  is,  i  think,  also  in  Philadelphia  a  more  wide-spread  honest  pride  in 
labor — in  the  element  of  skill  which  adds  to  raw  material  a  clearly  marked 
commercial  increase  in  value.  Our  early  settlers  were  men  born  of  those 
who  suffered  in  the  great  thirty-year  war  of  Europe,  and  each  unit  in  that 
new  body  in  the  new  land  had  some  special  qualification,  some  special 
talent,  which  was  his  pride  to  practice.  Within  six  months  of  their  settle- 
ment men  were  shearing  their  own  sheap  and  weaving  the  wool  therefrom, 
and  so  in  many  lines.  We  started  out  with  the  old  spirit  of  the  German 
guilds,  and  men  took  a  pride  in  the  quality  of  the  work.  As  a  consequence 
of  this  early  introduction  into  the  industrial  and  productive  side  of  life, 
traditions  have  always  run  in  Philadelphia  along  the  lines  of  pride  in  labor, 
tlie  workman  having  in  mind  not  only  the  eye  of  the  early  master,  but  of 
the  Heavenly  Master,  also. 

From  this  source,  I  believe,  has  sprang  power  ir  the  world  of  com- 
merce; for  in  every  age,  and  in  every  country,  quality  has  counted,  does 
count,  and  will  continue  to  count  as  a  commercial  factor.  Many  of  our 
largest  producers  market  their  products  in  from  sixty  to  ninety  different 
countries  beyond  the  limits  of  the  United  States  and  in  many  cases  they  have 
been  so  marketing  their  product  through  three  to  four  generations  of  propri- 
etors, in  some  cases  their  products  selling  at  prices  100  per  cent,  higher  than 
the  price  asked  by  an  unsuccessful  rival  manufacturer  in  any  other  country 
and  endeavoring  to  compete  for  the  same  trade. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  13 

We  count  in  Philadelphia  one  of  our  great  benefits,  one  of  our  largest 
assets,  a  certain  love  of  life  and  a  certain  contentment  with  existing  condi- 
tions characteristic  of  the  great  body  of  our  labor.  We  had  one  large  strike  a 
few  years  ago,  in  which  135,000  men  were  for  a  time  out  of  employment. 
Disorder  was  threatened,  but  the  net  result  showed  a  property  loss  of  less 
than  250  thousand  dollars — not  more  than  an  ordinary  fire.  In  1877,  return- 
ing from  Colorado,  I  was  held  up  in  Pittsburgh  and  saw  five  million  dollars' 
worth  of  property  destroyed  within  three  days.  This  is  not  spoken  in 
condemnation  of  Pittsburgh,  nor  in  praise  of  Philadelphia,  but  as  a  broad 
indication  that  times  and  sentiments  in  1912  are  far  in  advance  of  what 
they  were  in  1877.  But  in  Philadelphia  we  have  the  habit  of  keeping  our 
heads.  With  the  great  majority  the  rule  is  to  do  the  right  thing  without 
expecting  immediate  repayment  from  the  Great  Power  that  rules. 

The  opposite  of  this  was  brought  home  to  me  very  clearly  many  years 
ago  when  helping  my  old  mother  in  infant  school  work.  The  bishop  was 
visiting  the  school.  My  mother,  desiring  to  show  how  well  she  had  taught 
the  children  in  humility  and  all  the  virtues,  asked  a  little  girl :  ''Why  do  you 
love  God?"  Unfortunately,  she  got  hold  of  the  wrcng  child,  for  back 
came  the  answer:  "I  love  God  because  He  gave  me  my  beautiful  blue 
eyes."  My  dear  old  mother,  horrified  at  this  testimony  to  a  vain  mind, 
sought  relief  in  the  next  child,  asking  the  same  question.  To  her  horror, 
back  came  the  answer:  "I  love  Him  because  He  gave  me  my  beautiful 
brown  curls."  In  despair  she  appealed  to  a  little  boy  on  the  back  bench, 
the  most  ill-favored  youngster  in  the  school ;  bristly  red  hair,  up-turned  nose, 
freckled  face.  "Why  do  you  love  God,  Tommy?"  asked  my  mother.  Then 
the  answer  came:  "I  don't  love  Him  at  all;  He  darn  near  ruined  me." 

This  attitude  of  immediate  cash  payment  from  the  Almighty  for  every 
kindly  act  is  not  the  prevailing  opinion  here  in  Philadelphia.  I  think,  in  fact, 
as  well  as  name,  we  are  a  city  of  Brotherly  Love;  and  when  I  run  down  the 
list  of  our  good  points  and  our  claim  to  be  a  truly  American  city,  first  and 
foremost  of  all,  I  like  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  along  among  the  cities 
in  the  world,  we  in  Philadelphia  maintain  a  Permanent  Relief  Committee, 
with  a  balance  in  bank,  with  a  committee  ready  to  meet  at  a  moment's  notice, 
with  machinery  of  distribution  fully  organized,  so  that  the  moment  the  news 
arrives  of  famine  in  Russia,  of  an  earthquake  disaster  in  Italy,  of  famine 
in  Ireland  or  trouble  in  South  America,  or  disaster  in  one  of  our  own 
American  cities,  back  goes  the  answer  over  the  wire :  "God  help  you.  We 
are  sending  you  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Will  send  more  if  necessary." 
by  this  action  testifying  that  we,  in  Philadelphia,  regard  charity  not  as  simply 
an  impulsive  action,  but  as  one  of  the  fixed,  unalterable,  and  unavoidable 
duties  of  everyday  life — something  which  must  be  done,  and  promptly,  or  we 
fall  below  the  level  of  citizenship  established  by  the  fathers. 

There  is  talk  common  in  our  country  and  throughout  the  world,  that 
this  is  a  hard  and  prosaic  age;  that  the  age  of  miracles  has  passed;  that 
the  day  of  the  poet  and  the  fairy  tale  has  gone  forever.  Why,  gentlemen  of 
this  great  Congress,  if  I  could  only  make  you  see  the  soul  of  this  great 
city  as  I  see  it,  you  would  agree  with  me  that  every  day,  behind  the  gaunt, 
unpicturesque  walls  of  some  great  factory,  a  new  miracle  is  being  performed 
through  the  mighty  results  born  of  the  wedding  of  brain  and  brawn  under 
our  great  civilization  and  our  free  government ;  that  the  most  wonderful  fairy 
tales  ever  written  are  being  written  today,  right  here  in  Philadelphia,  by  our 
300,000  workers,  who,  through  their  skill,  are  maki-r-g  available  for  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  the  whole  world  the  great  wealth  of  raw  material 
with  which  the  Almighty  has  blessed  this  mighty  nation. 

Come  with  me  for  a  moment  to  one  of  our  largest  establishments — the 
largest  hat  factory  in  the  whole  world  (the  next  largest  is  in  Vienna).  What 
happens  at  this  place?  Let  me  tell  you.  Through  the  great  machinery  of 
commerce  they  reach  out  an  arm  to  South  America  and  take  sixty  per  cent. 
t>f  the  furs  from  one  country;  another  arm  goes  North  to  Scotland  for  more 


I4  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

furs;  to  Russia  for  more  furs;  out  to  far  India  to  gel  the  shellac;  out  to 
Japan  to  get  silk,  and  this  great  mass  of  raw  material,  gathered  from  ail 
round  the  globe,  is  centred  here  in  Philadelphia.  What  next?  Why,  nearly 
six  thousand  willing  workers,  who  are  nearly  all  stockholders  in  the  concern, 
begin  work  on  this  raw  material.  The  fur  is  corn  apart;  the  felt  is  madej 
the  hats  are  fashioned,  finished,  boxed  ready  for  export  all  over  the  ^yorld. 
And  if  you  divide  the  number  of  hats  produced  by  the  number  of  hours 
worked,  you  will  find  that  that  raw  material  is  transferred  into  the  finished 
hat  at  the  rate  of  a  finished  hat  every  2V2  se-.onds.  Does  not  this  stand 
for  a  miracle  to  our  modern  eyes?  Can  there  be  written  a  more  fascinating 
fairy  tale? 

Come  to  another  centre  of  industry,  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware. 
Here,  in  45  separate  buildings  of  the  Disston  Saw  and  File  Works,  they 
take  each  year  a  total  of  2500  tons  of  grind-stone  and  put  it  up  against  7500 
tons  of  steel,  with  the  result  that  thirteen  million  files,  saws  and  knives  are 
called  into  existence— each  tool  to  go  out  into  the  world  with  power  to 
multiply  the  power  of  man.  and  through  that  multiplied  power,  multiply  the 
comforts  of  mankind.  Think  what  this  means :  In  this  one  establishment, 
dividing  again  output  by  hours  worked,  a  new  tool  to  be  of  service  to  mau 
kind  is  called  into  existence  with  every  tick  of  rhe  clock  or  every  second  of 
time. 

You  see  a  thousand  children  released  from  school.  They  cannot  travel 
far  in  ninety  seconds,  and  yet  in  ninety  seconds  our  stocking  mills  will  make 
a  pair  of  stockings  for  each  one  of  the  thousand  children. 

One  of  these  children  will  go  home  to  a  seven-rcom  house.  Our  car- 
pet mills  will  carpet  that  house  in  28  seconds.  We  build  the  largest  locomo- 
tive in  2M>  hours,  and  the  largest  trolley  car  in  one  hour.  These  are  just  a 
few  illustrations  of  the  picturesque  side  of  our  activities  and  yet  I  think  they 
carry  a  lesson  and  a  meaning  for  all. 

One  thought  more  and  I  will  leave  you  to  your  deliberations.  I  am  a 
chronic  optimist  and  therefore  a  hater  of  pessimists  and  pessimism.  You 
know  what  a  pessimist  is ;  he  is  the  man  who,  when  given  the  choice  of 
two  evils,  takes  them  both  and  asks  for  repeat  orders.  Now  the  optimist 
according  to  my  point  of  view,  is  represented  pretty  well  by  my  dear  old 
friend  Casey.  He  called  the  other  day  to  say  good-bye.  "I  am  going  out 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands,"  he  informed  me.  ''Man  alive,  you  cannot  stand 
it  there;  it  is  185  degrees  in  the  shade."  Back  came  his  answer:  "But  I 
needn't  stay  in  the  shade  all  the  time."  Men  like  Casey  don't  meet 
trouble  half  way  and  they  always  expect  to  find,  and  generally  do  find,  some 
way  of  escaping  the  trouble  which  many  of  us  see  in  tomorrow  and  so  few  of 
Us  meet  today.  It  has  been  my  fortune  to  travel  all  over  the  world,  and 
I  speak  with  a  due  sense  of  responsibility  when  I  go  on  record  here,  that 
I  believe  this  country  is  today  facing  the  greatest  era  of  prosperity  ever 
faced  by  any  country,  in  any  age,  on  any  continent.  I  hold  this  faith  because 
I  believe  that  not  merely  our  usual  purchasing  power  will  have  its  normal 
return  of  increase  during  the  next  decade,  but  because  I  see  in  the  wonderful 
creative  work,  born  of  a  greater  intelligence  and  more  exact  science,  ;t 
remarkable  multiplication  of  our  purchasing  power  from  outside  sources, 
in  1869,  or  44  years  ago,  I  crossed  the  continent  on  the  first  railroad  ever 
linking  East  and  West,  traveling  on  that  trip  over  five  days  over  what  every 
geography  in  the  world  called  the  "Great  American  Dessert."  Today, 
thanks  to  science,  we  are  raising  four  crops  a  year  on  that  dessert.  Prior  to 
that  trip  I  traveled  through  the  South,  where  frequently  were  to  be  seen  signs 
threatening  a  fine  on  those  who  left  cotton  seed  as  waste  in  the  streets.  Today 
that  despised  waste  adds  108  million  dollars  to  the  export  values  of  the 
United  States. 

There  is  at  the  present  moment  running  wild  ii;  the  rivers  of  the 
United  States,  three  times  the  pulling  power  of  all  the  horses  in  the  world 
— a  power  which  in  the  near  future  will  be  harnessed  for  the  uses  of  com- 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  15 

mercial  and  manufacturing  life.  In  every  direction  that  we  look  economies 
are  being  inaugurated,  new  methods  developed  whereby  millions  wasted  in 
times  past  are  to  be  returned  .into  the  general  fund  of  wealth  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind.  In  every  direction  that  the  eye  can  range  is  obtained 
evidence  of  this  new  spirit  and  this  new  power.  Take  as  one  broad  example 
our  great  area  of  agricultural  land,  on  which  today  we  average  a  production 
of  only  about  fourteen  bushels  to  the  acre;  where  ir.  Europe,  on  land  tilled 
a  thousand  years,  they  average  40  bushels  to  the  acre. 

So,  gentlemen,  the  message  I  would  bring  you  is  not  only  welcome  to 
Philadelphia,  but  a  message  of  hope  for  the  future :  a  hopeful  message  which 
is  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  traditions  of  Philadelphia — a  city  always 
endeavoring  to  inspire  hope  and  a  new  love  of  liberty  in  the  peoples  of 
this  Republic. 

In  closing  let  me  leave  this  thought.  This  is  a  time  in  which  many 
large  issues  are  being  handled,  most  of  them  in  a  large  way,  but  no  matter 
how  well  treated,  there  must  develop  a  certain  amount  of  doubt  and  hesita- 
tion in  commercial  affairs.  There  is  certain  10  be  a  feeling  in  certain 
quarters  that  injustice  is  done.  The  period,  therefore,  is  pre-eminently  one, 
in  which  each  should  exercise  a  large  and  cool  allowance;  where  we  should 
try  to  remember  the  responsibility  that  comes  with  our  title  "Sovereign  by 
Divine  Right."  It  is  a  time  for  each  to  endeavor  to  put  aside  all  littleness 
and  to  work  with  heart  and  soul  for  the  common  good  of  our  common  land. 
It  is  because  I  have  this  condition  in  mind,  perhaps,  that  I  have  also  very 
clearly  before  me  as  I  speak  today  the  picture  of  my  first  and  last  meeting 
with  General  Grant.  I  was  a  guest  at  the  White  House  at  the  first  inaugural, 
in  1869.  I  saw  General  Grant  receiving  applause  and  compliments  from  a 
large  portion  of  a  great  nation.  I  saw  him  later  received  with  peculiar  honor 
and  distinction  all  round  the  world;  and  then  it  was  my  painful  duty  to  wit- 
ness the  actions  of  this  same  man  when  he  seemed  the  prey  of  all  the  furies, 
and  ill-luck  seemed  to  dog  every  footstep ;  first  his  little  fortune  swept  away 
through  the  treachery  of  a  partner,  followed  by  the  surrender  of  his  swords 
and  medals  that  he  might  do  all  in  his  power  to  discharge  a  personal 
obligation  incurred  in  an  effort  to  avert  this  ;a.ilure;  then  came  the  fall 
on  an  icy  pavement  which  made  him  a  cripple,  and  later  the  verdict  of  the 
doctors  which  put  a  very  short  limit  on  his  life  and  decreed  that  these 
days  remaining  on  earth  should  be  days  of  intense,  suffering  from  cancer 
I  saw  him  withdraw  practically  from  active  life,  ;ind  from  the  scenes  and 
associations  to  which  he  was  deeply  attached,  ar.'d  take  up  his  residence  in 
the  lonely  little  cottage  on  Mt.  McGregor,  in  New  York  State,  where  even- 
ounce  of  remaining  strength  was  put  in  service  that  he  might  complete  that 
great  book  which  was  to  pay  his  last  debt  and  leave  his  wife  provided 
against  want  in  the  future.  My  last  interview  found  him  almost  on  the 
edge  of  the  valley  of  the  Great  Shadow.  His  voice  had  left  him;  he 
could  only  communicate  by  the  written  pad,  and  yet  he  was  still  at  work 
on  his  task — that  task  which  was  to  pay  a  debt  of  honor  and  provide,  as 
an  honest  man  should  desire,  for  the  welfare  of  vrife  and  children  after  his 
death.  At  the  close  of  that  interview  he  wrote  on  his  pad:  "My  great 
comfort  in  these  dark  days  is  the  fact  that  from  all  over  the  South,  from 
my  old  opponents  in  arms,  come  messages  of  good-will  and  kindly  sympathy, 
and  I  seem  to  see  an  early  realization  of  my  heart's  desire,  expressed  in 
these  old  words :  'Let  us  have  peace/  " 

1  can  do  no  better,  in  closing  this  welcome  on  behalf  of  the  Mayor  of 
Philadelphia  to  this  great  Congress,  than  call  attention  to  this  admonition 
and  this  message  from  the  dead  soldier,  and  emphasize  here  from  living  lips 
the  thought,  the  plea,  the  prayer :  "Let  us  have  peace."  And  coming  from 
tjie  wider  range  of  national  good  to  the  narrower  but  more  deeply  regarded 
limits  of  my  own  dear  city,  I  trust  that  before  you  leave  you  will  be  able 
to  join  with  me  in  the  piayer  which  falls  from  my  lips  every  day  of  my 
life,  the  prayer  uttered  first  by  William  Penn,  our  Founder,  more  thar 
two  and  a  quarter  centuries  ago: 


16  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

"And  thou,  Philadelphia,  child  of  my  neart,  named  before 
thou  wert  born;  my  soul  lifts  to  God  for  thee,  that  thou  mayest 
stand  in  the  day  of  trial,  and  that  thy  children  may  tc  blessed."  (Ap- 
plause). 

CHAIRMAN  WIGTON:  Gentlemen  of  the  Congress,  the  Governor 
of  this  Commonwealth,  expected  to  be  present  and  address  you  in  the  opening 
exercises,  but  he  has  been  unavoidably  detained.  You  have  been  enthralled 
6y  the  eloquence  of  the  Mayor's  representative  and  put  in  a  responsive  frame 
of  mind  to  proceed  with  your  deliberations,  and  we  now  hand  the  Congress 
over  to  your  able  president,'  Dr.  D.  W.  Brunton,  of  Colorado. 

PRESIDENT  BRUNTON:  (Applause).  Chaiiman  of  the  Executive 
Committee  and  members :  In  the  first  place,  allow  me  in  the  name  of  the 
American  Mining  Congress  to  thank  the  Executive  Committee,  and  the  Mayor 
of  this  city,  through  his  able  representative,  for  the  hearty  reception  tendered 
us. 

I  could  not  help  thinking  as  I  listened  to  the  eloquent  and  flowery 
address  of  Mr.  Cattell  at  the  strange  contrast  between  the  Cattell  of  today 
and  the  Cattell  I  knew  thirty-seven  years  ago.  It  is  almost  as  different  as  the 
town  of  Caribou,  in  Colorado,  thousands  of  feet  above  the  sea  level  and  your 
own  city  of  Philadelphia. 

One  of  the  last  things  I  remember  about  Mr.  Cattell  before  his  leaving 
— it  was  a  very  severe  winter  and  he  was  unfortunate  enough  to  contract 
a  very  severe  cold.  The  doctor  insisted  that  he  should  not  only  take  a  rest, 
but  a  tonic,  a  mixture  of  whisky  and  quinine.  Mr.  Cattell  said  he  objected 
to  quinine.  (Laughter). 

There  are  a  great  many  representatives  from  the  different  States  H> 
Speak  this  afternoon,  and  the  hour  is  more  than  late,  so  I  think  we  will 
commence  by  calling  on  the  representative  from  Alaska,  Mr.  William  Ma- 
loney,  of  Nome. 

MR.  MALONEY :  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress:  I  did  not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  speak  so  soon  after 
my  arrival,  but  I  can  tell  you  a  few  facts  about  Alaska.  I  have  listened  in 
tently  to  the  opening  address  of  the  chairman  as  he  talked  to  you  on  the 
subject  of  coal.  We  of  Alaska  have  been  trying  in  vain  for  a  number  of 
years  to  get  our  coal  lands  opened  up,  and  for  that  reason  I  would  ask  the 
members  of  this  Congress,  at  this  time,  to  aid  us  as  much  as  they  can  for  the 
benefit  of  Alaska. 

Some  of  you  probably  are  not  aware  of  the  size  and  greatness  of  the 
productions  of  Alaska.  We  have  a  population  of  about  thirty  thousand 
white  people.  Our  production  is  about  eighty  millions  a  year,  of  which 
about  twenty-five  millions  in  gold,  silver  and  copper.  Alaska  is  not  alto- 
gether an  icicle  as  some  people  think.  We  have  beautiful  agricultural  gar- 
dens, flower  gardens  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds.  In  fact,  we  raise  consid- 
erable agricultural  produce.  They  are  shipping  it,  however,  at  the  present 
time  to  Alaska,  although  transportation  is  high  and  the  country  is  suffering 
from  the  want  of  railroads  and  means  of  transportation,  and  we  do  hope, 
a.nd  the  majority  of  Alaskans  think  that  the  present  administration,  at  least, 
will  do  something  toward  opening  up  Alaska  in  the  way  of  building  railroads 
and  opening  up  the  coal  fields  so  that  we  can  have  cheaper  transportation  and 
cheaper  fuel. 

We  have  extensive  mines  in  the  interior  of  Alaska,  which  we  cannot 
operate  for  the  want  of  transportation.  Of  course,  the  mines  upon  the 
coast  we  are  able  to  operate  to  a  great  extent,  as  they  are  closer  to  th? 
transportation  facilities.  We  have  some  of  the  largest  mining  companies,  I 
believe,  in  the  world  today.  They  have  many  mines  and  produce  a  great 
^eal.  It  would  be  interesting  to  a  great  many  of  you  gentlemen  to  see 
those  mines. 

The  great  drawback  of  Alaska  has  been,  and  is  at  the  present  time, 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  17 

the  want  of  transportation  and  the  opening  up  of  the  coal  fields,  so  that 
the  people  of  Alaska  will  be  able  to  get  cheaper  fuel  and  be  able  to  open 
up.  their  mines  and  work  them  at  a  profit.  We  have  more  coal  than  there 
is  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  we  cannot  get  one  ton.  This  summer, 
the  second  of  August,  I  left  Nome,  Alaska,  with  Dr.  Holmes  of  the  Bureau 
of  Mines,  and  traveled  with  him  to  Fairbanks,  and  into  the  Indian  coal  fields. 
There  are  immense  coal  fields  in  that  district.  We  were  there  on  the  26th  of 
August.  Had  we  been  half  a  day  later  we  would  not  have  seen  anything. 
That  afternoon  we  saw  fourteen  veins  of  coal,  ranging  from  four  to  thirty 
feet  in  thickness,  openly  exposed.  They  did  not  need  any  shafts.  The  coal 
was  wide  open,  thirty  feet  wide,  laying  there.  The  people  of  Alaska  cannot 
use  it,  the  government  won't  allow  them. 

That  evening  we  went  into  a  cabin  for  the  night,  and  along  came  a 
snowstorm  and  the  snow  was  fourteen  inches  deep.  We  went  back  through 
this  snow  to  Fairbanks  and  met  Dr.  Holmes.  He  expected  to  be  here  to 
attend  this  Congress.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen.  (Applause). 

The  President:  We  will  next  listen  to  a  response  from  Mr.  W.  H. 
Fluker  Thompson,  Georgia. 

MR.  FLUKER:  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen:  Michael  Angelo  and 
many  other  sculptors  have  carved  beautiful  and  lifelike  images  from  cold 
marble,  but  no  one  has  succeeded  in  giving  life  and  warmth  to  the  creatiou 
of  his  hands.  Many  an  eloquent  speech  has  been  cut  out  of  the  cold  English 
language  that  bore  no  more  resemblance  to  life  than  do  these  figures  in 
marble;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  this  gentleman,  Mr.  Cattell,  has  wrought 
the  miracle  of  breathing  warm  life  and  friendliness  into  his  address  of 
welcome.  And  I  have  been  made  to  feel,  as  never  before,  the  tightening  of 
the  ties  which  bind  this  whole  land  together  in  bonds  of  unity. 

It  is  good  that  such  hospitality,  such  friendship  and  brotherly  love  should 
exist,  and  in  this  day  and  time,  when  men  seem  to  seek  to  convert  their 
time  and  talents  only  into  the  almighty  dollar,  it  is  no  small  thing  that  this 
great  city  with  its  wonderful  business  interests,  its  honored  memories  and 
cherished  legends  should  pause,  even  for  a  moment,  in  its  stride  to  even 
greater  achievements,  to  give  the  glad  hand,  in  friendly  welcome,  to  a  bunch 
of  ordinary  Americans. 

I  have  no  words  to  express  my  appreciation  of  such  a  reception,  but 
I  can  fall  back  on  the  old  Southern  custom  and  invite  you,  all  of  you. 
and  your  families,  to  come  to  see  us  down  in  Georgia.  We  will  do  our  best 
to  measure  up  to  this  Philadelphia  standard.  We  have  no  great  shipyards. 
no  business  enterprises  of  such  magnitude  as  has  been  described  to  us,  but 
we  have  plenty  of  room  to  build  others,  we  have  the  material,  and  the  de- 
mand for  them,  and  we  have  the  men  ready  to  help  build  them. 

I  only  wish  that  I  were  a  public  speaker  and  able  to  present  the  won- 
derful opportunities1  of  that  great  State.  While  Georgia  is  developing  rap- 
idly, her  best  resources  are  still  practically  untouched  and  I  earnestly  invite 
you  to  come  and  see  for  yourselves  what  opportunities  this  State  abounds  in. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  the  story  of  an  old  negro  moonshiner.  Pos- 
sibly you  do  not  know  what  a  "moonshiner"  is.  Well,  he  is  a  distinct  species 
of  the  human  race,  who  inhabits  the  mountains  of  North  Georgia  and  East 
Tennessee.  He  cares  nothing  for  books  or  store  clothes  and  is  rarely  seen 
in  the  cities  unless  there  is  a  circus  in  town  or  he  is  carried  there  by  the 
revenue  officer.  He  operates  a  small  still,  from  which  the  government  de- 
rives no  revenue,  and  exchanges  his  product  with  his  neighboring  customers 
for  corn  and  rye,  which  are  the  raw  materials  from  which  the  "mountain 
dew"  is  produced. 

This  old  negro,  whose  name  is  Joshua  Harris,  made  whisky  in  the  hills 
of  Wilkes  county  before  the  laws  forbidding  it  were  made.  After  these 
laws  were  enacted,  Joshua  continued  his  business  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 


i8  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

For  many  years  he  evaded  the  revenue  officers,  but  they  finally  got  him 
and  took  him  to  Augusta  for  trial. 

The  trial  of  a  "moonshiner"  is  a  very  simple  matter.  He  usually 
comes  before  the  court,  pleads  guilty,  a  small  fine,  which  is  promptly  paid 
by  some  friend,  is  imposed;  then  he  hurries  happily  homeward  to  resume 
operations. 

The  old  negro  was  brought  before  the  judge  to  be  sentenced,  and  the 
judge,  in  his  impressive  and  dignified  way,  said  to  him:  "So,  you  have  been 
making  whisky?"  The  old  negro  very  humbly  said  "Yessah,  dats  what  dey 
tells  on  me  j edge."  The  judge  then  asked :  "What  is  your  name?"  The  old 
negro  replied,  "Joshua  Harris,  sah."  "Joshua,"  said  the  judge,  "then  you  are 
the  man  who  made  the  sun  stand  still."  The  old  negro  was  a  little  deaf,  so 
leaning  forward  he  answered:  "Sah?"  "You  are  the  man,  I  suppose,  who 
made  the  sun  stand  still?''  "No,  sah,  boss,  dat  warn't  me;  dat  was  jes  a 
little  moon-shine-still,  I  made." 

The  old  negro's  fine  was  paid  by  one  of  his  white  friends,  and  he 
was  soon  on  his  way  to  his  hills.  A  short  while  afterward  his  friend  called 
upon  him  at  his  still.  Joshua  set  out  a  bottle  of  his  best  whisky,  saying: 
"Dar  it  is,  boss,  hit  ain't  much,  but  what  is  dar,  is  jes'  as  free  as  de 
Savannah  Ribber,  as  long  as  dar's  a  drap  in  de  bottle." 

So,  we  present  the  resources  of  Georgia;  we  believe  they  are  large 
and  afford  great  opportunities  for  all  of  you  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  old 
negro,  who  offered  his  best  liquor,  freely,  to  his  best  friend,  we  offer  them  to 
you.  (APPLAUSE). 

The  President:  The  State  of  Kentucky  will  be  represented  by  Mr.  C. 
J.  Norwood,  State  Geologist,  of  Lexington. 

MR.  NORWOOD:  Mr.  President,  ladies  and  gentlemen:  Kentucky 
desires  to  express  its  warm  appreciation  of  the  welcome  that  has  been 
accorded  to  this  Congress.  Her  delegates  feel  at  home  in  Pennsylvania. 
They  feel  at  home  in  Philadelphia  and  on  Philadelphia  streets.  Many  of  the 
early  families  of  Kentucky  were  founded  by  Pennsylvanians.  That  great 
pioneer  of  Kentucky,  Daniel  Boone,  was  a  Pennsylvanian.  Many  of  our 
most  useful  citizens  of  today  are  Pennsylvanians.  Much  Pennsylvania  money 
is  now  at  work  developing  our  mine  resources.  Kentucky  feels  that  it  is 
now  as  rich  in  resources  as  any  of  the  mining  States.  Kentucky  has  a 
reputation  for  the  loveliest  women,  the  speediest  horses,  the  finest  grass  lands, 
the  most  fragrant  mint  and  the  quaint  Kentucky  'Colonel'  makes  a  most 
delightful  picture. 

The  State  today  has  become  one  of  the  most  ambitious  of  the  States 
industrially.  Indeed,  within  recent  years  a  new  Kentucky  has  been  formed. 
All  that  made  the  gcod  old  commonwealth  attractive  as  a  homestead  is 
still  there — the  loveliest  women,  the  fastest  horses,  the  fragrant  mint,  the 
beautiful  meadows  are  still  there,  and  the  birds  in  their  flight  from  North  to 
South  and  back  again  still  call  there  to  sing  their  songs  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving to  the  Giver  of  all  good  things,  for  his  graciousness  in  creating  a 
Kentucky. 

But  now  the  quaint  Kentucky  'Colonel'  lives  only  in  Washington,  and 
the  quaint  Kentucky  'Colonel'  as  we  know  him  is  busy  opening  coal  mines, 
putting  down  oil  wells,  blasting  out  stone  quarries,  digging  phosphate  rocks, 
quarrying  asphalt  rocks,  making  about  the  best  coke  in  the  country,  or  de- 
veloping some  other  of  these  several  varieties  of  mineral  products  that  we 
have  in  the  State.  For,  gentlemen,  Kentucky  is  one  of  the  richest  mineral 
bearing  States  in  the  Union.  Our  greatest  progress,  naturally,  has  been 
made  in  coal  mining,  although  we  were  slow  to  get  to  that.  We  did  not 
reach  the  five  million  ton  mark  until  about  1905,  but  last  year  we  more 
than  trebled  the  output,  and  with  an  output  of  nearly  sixteen  and  a  half 
million  tons  of  coal  last  year,  ran  into  fifth  place  of  the  coal  mining  States 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  19 

of  the  Union;  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Illinois  and  Ohio  being  the 
States  ahead  of  us,  and  within  a  very  few  years  we  will  take  fourth  place. 
Now,  modesty,  as  well  as  the  command  of  the  secretary,  forbids  me 
from  going  into  details  concerning  other  than  our  mineral  resources.  Surely 
Kentucky  has  reached  a  position  of  importance  in  mining  affairs,  and  her 
delegates  are  mainly  interested  in  the  efforts  thai  the  American  Mining 
Congress  is  making  in  behalf  of  the  mining  interests  of  the  country,  in  the 
line  of  which,  from  whatever  point  of  view  you  might  regard  it,  is  the 
effort  to  obtain  Federal  aid  for  the  mining  schools  under  control  of  the 
State.  Gentlemen,  I  thank  you.  (APPLAUSE). 

The  President.  We  will  now  listen  to  response  on  behalf  of  the  State 
of  New  York  by  Mr.  John  R.  Burton. 

MR.  BURTON:  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Congress:  I 
am  not  on  the  program  to  give  a  talk  and  I  would  rather  listen  to  the 
discussions  of  the  other  delegates,  but  as  long  as  I  have  been  placed  in 
this  position  I  will  say  that  I  believe  we  have  the  greatest  mine  in  the 
world  in  New  York. 

The  mine  is  situated  below  what  Inspector  Burns  called  at  one  time, 
the  'dead  line.'  It  is  a  place  where  they  have  been  mining  out  of  your  pockets 
and  putting  it  back  in  the1  ground.  We  have  been  financing  the  mines  of  the 
country  and  while  a  great  deal  of  that  finance  has  gone  into  the  pockets  of 
the  'Get-Rich-Quick'  operator,  I  believe  the  operations  in  New  York  and 
throughout  the  country  have  reached  that  stage  where  the  'Get-Rich-Quick' 
operator  has  been  eliminated.  Most  of  the  financing  has  been  done  on 
the  New  York  curb,  of  which  I  am  a  member  and  represents  the  leading 
mine  markets  of  the  world. 

I  hope  to  have  something  more  to  say  in  the  deliberations  of  the 
Congress,  and  in  the  meantime,  am  glad  to  be  with  you.  (APPLAUSE). 

The  President.  I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  Charles  E.  Maurer. 
of  Ohio,  who  will  respond  on  behalf  of  that  State. 

MR.  MAURER  :  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  convention :  As 
delegates  from  Ohio  we  are  glad  to  be  here.  There  is  every  reason  why 
Ohio  should  be  welcomed  to  a  convention  in  Pennsylvania  or  any  of  the 
adjoining  States.  Ohio  is  the  gateway  of  all  coke  and  of  the  great  quantity 
of  your  iron  ore  that  comes  through  the  northwest  lo  the  Great  Lakes,  and  1 
may  say,  like  the  bird  of  passage,  a  great  deal  of  the  coal  comes  from  your 
States  and  we  welcome  you  and  welcome  your  coal,  because  the  coal  mining 
industry  as  an  industry  must  be  bound  together.  There  must  be  some 
organization  of  the  operators  in  this  industry  in  this  country.  There  is  no 
industrial  advantage  where  there  are  so  many  individuals  engaged  as  there 
are  in  the  coal  mining  industry  of  this  country.  No  other  industry  has  so 
many  small  operators. 

You  take  your  iron  ore  industries,  your  steel  industries,  your  lumber 
industries — all  the  large  industries  are  controlled  by  very  large  corporations, 
and  the  coal  mining  industry  alone  is  controlled  by  individuals  and  small 
corporations.  The  result  to  the  coal  mining  industry  has  been  to  its 
disadvantage. 

We  are  bound  and  surrounded  by  the  Sherman  'Anti-Trust'  Law,  by 
this  law  and  the  other  law,  by  some  kind  of  a  law  in  this  State  and  by  some 
kind  of  a  law  in  another  State,  that  absolutely  prevents  two  business  men 
engaged  in  this  industry  from  talking  on  the  street  about  that  industry 
without  becoming  criminals.  That  is  the  reason  that  the  coal  mining  industry 
.today  as  somebody  says  has  so  little  in  it  for  us,  because  of  the  tremendous 
competition  and  because  of  the  tremendous  waste. 

You  realize  that  in  the  coal  mining  of  this  country,  forty  per  cent, 
of  the  product  is  being  left  in  the  mines,  that  will  never  be  produced — it  is 
absolutely  wasted.  And  why?  Because  of  the  inability,  on  account  of  the 
keen  competition  to  develop  and  bring  this  coal  out  to  the  surface. 


20  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

I  tell  you  it  is  a  question  for  mining  institutions  of  this  country  to 
study.  It  is  a  question  for  the  legislators  of  the  States  to  study.  It  is  a 
question  for  the  Congress  to  study.  This  great  natural  resource  is  being 
destroyed  and  wasted.  The  timber  lands  were  destroyed  and  the  time  will 
come  when  we  realize  how  much  has  been  wasted  and  I  hope  that  this  meet- 
ing will  take  up  the  question  of  the  conservation  of  this  great  natural 
resource  of  this  country. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  glad  to  be  here,  and  I  know  the  other  members  of 
the  State  of  Ohio  are  also  glad  to  be  here.  (APPLAUSE). 

The  President.  I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  Mr.  Walter  C.  Lamb, 
of  Tonopah,  Nevada,  one  of  the  delegates  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

MR.  LAMB.  Mr.  Chairman  and  members  of  the  Congress :  My  ap- 
pointment as  a  representative  of  the  Federal  Government  is  something  that 
came  very  recently,  and  perhaps  it  might  be  more  proper  if  I  came  as  from 
the  State  of  Nevada.  However,  I  would  rather  say  something  about  the 
State  of  Nevada  than  I  would  about  the  general  government.  Perhaps  I 
might  acknowledge  the  very  cordial  welcome  that  the  Philadelphians  and 
Pennsylvanians  have  given  the  members  of  the  Congress. 

I  remember  about  eleven  years  ago,  when  mining  in  the  West,  and 
particularly  in  the  State  of  Nevada  had  fallen  to  a  very  low  ebb,  that  new 
life  was  given  by  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  through  the  agency  of  the  gentle- 
men who  started  the  development  in  Southern  Nevada.  They  produced  about 
seventy  million  dollars,  and  as  a  direct  result  of  that  caused  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  the  gold  fields.  The  mines  in  that  country  are  now  in  a  most  excep- 
tional condition  of  prosperity. 

I  realize  from  my  experience  in  the  West  that  there  are  a  great  many 
problems  that  such  a  body  as  this  Congress  might  very  well  consider.  It 
is  quite  surprising  the  more  one  pays  attention  to  the  general  industry  of 
mining,  that  there  are  so  many  problems  to  be  solved,  so  many  conditions 
that  should  be  corrected  by  both  State  and  National  Legislation,  and  I  hope, 
although  myself  have  very  serious  misgivings  as  to  my  ability  to  contribute 
a  great  deal,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  render  some  assistance  in  the  future  de- 
liberations of  this  Congress  in  shedding  light  on  the  questions  that  should 
be  considered  for  the  correction  of  those  problems  that  face  us  in  the  West 
through  Federal  legislation. 

I  should  be  better  pleased  to  listen  to  some  of  the  other  delegates. 
<  APPLAUSE). 

President  Brunton  introduces  the  representative  from  Oregon,  Mr. 
H.  N.  Lawrie,  of  Portland. 

MR.  LAWRIE:  President,  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress :  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  be  here  today  to  tell  you 
a  little  more  about  the  recent  development  of  the  State  of  Oregon.  It 
might  be  said  that  mining  in  Oregon  has  been  at  a  very  low  ebb  in  the 
past  four  or  five  years,  but  more  recently  there  have  been  some  innovations 
which  have  assisted  greatly  in  stimulating  a  large  development.  The  1913 
Legislative  Session  of  Oregon  voted  a  substantial  appropriation  for  the 
support  of  a  Bureau  of  Mines  and  Geology.  The  work  has  been  carried 
on  this  past  summer  by  six  field  parties,  and  in  the  spring  of  1914  we  hope 
tp  publish  a  number  of  very  important  bulletins  concerning  mining  conditions 
of  the  State  with  distribution  of  a  relief  map  which  will  give  more  of  an 
idea  of  the  metals  of  the  State  and  the  conditions  of  the  placer  mining 
industry  which  has  contributed,  and  continues  to  do  so,  to  the  quota  of 
wealth  of  the  State  of  Oregon. 

This  year  the  estimates  show  that  the  State  of  Oregon  will  have  in- 
creased its  gold  production  approximately  300  per  cent,  over  what  it  produced 
last  year,  or  any  year  of  the  past  decade.  This  will  indicate  the  large  amount 
of  development  that  is  going  on  at  the  present  time. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  21 

Outside  investors  have  come  to  the  State  with  a  full  realization 
of  the  possibilities  of  development  and  we  hope  to  direct  that  capital  into 
channels  of  greater  safety  of  investment. 

The  Pan-American  Exposition,  to  take  place  in  1915,  in  San  Francisco, 
is  a  matter  which  is  very  dear  to  our  heaerts.  Preparations  are  now  under 
way  to  compile  a  series  of  volumes  on  various  problems  of  mining  industry 
by  the  most  capable  authorities  in  the  world.  These  contributions  will  be  of 
great  advantage,  educationally,  to  the  mining  industry,  and  will  become  the 
basis  and  guide  for  future  legislation. 

There  is,  however,  in  our  opinion,  only  one  channel  through  which 
this  legislation  may  properly  take  form.  The  American  Mining  Congress 
fills  that  particular  place  in  the  United  States,  and  we,  of  Oregon,  hope  that 
the  deliberations  of  ihis  convention  will  have  vital  influence  in  changing  such 
laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  assist  mining  development.  Of  this  we  are 
certain  ,that  the  present  administration  of  the  Department  of  Interior  and 
tlie  Department  of  Agriculture  are  extremely  interested  in  the  problems  of 
Western  development. 

It  is  true  that  for  the  past  four  or  five  years  the  development  of  the 
natural  resource  of  the  West  has  been  retarded.  It  has  been  largely  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  became  necessary  to  withdraw  large  areas  of  land  to  tem- 
porarily protect  them  from  the  speculative  element — not  those  who  would 
seriously  intend  development.  True,  the  West  had  to  suffer  because  of  this 
withdrawal,  but  now,  gentlemen,  is  the  time  for  us  to  formulate  our  ideas 
into  a  set  of  principles  concerning  resource  development  with  an  idea  as  to 
its  conservation.  I  mean  conservation  in  the  real  sense,  rather  than  in 
the  form  it  has  been  given  to  us.  Principles  which  because  of  their  lasting 
nature,  will  actually  be  a  foundation  for  satisfactory  legislation. 

The  reason  why  our  laws  at  the  present  time  are  inefficient  is  largely 
because  the  American  Mining  Congress  was  not  born  years  before. 

As  I  said  before,  we,  of  Oregon,  are  vitally  interested  with  California 
in  the  outcome  of  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  and  on  behalf  of  the 
State  of  Oregon.  I  would  like  to  invite  each  one  of  you  who  attend  the 
exposition  to  visit  the  Oregon  Building,  where  you  will  be  received  hospitably 
and  shown  the  resources  of  that  State,  and  I  trust  that  after 
you  have  seen  this  that  you  will  be  inclined  to  visit  the  State 
of  Oregon  to  see  its  actual  operations.  Outside  of  the  mining  industry 
there  are  so  many  other  resources  in  an  undeveloped  country  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  consider  the  conservation  of  mining  resources  without  taking 
into  consideration  the  hydro-electro  possibilities — that  of  the  timber  re- 
sources, which  is  perhaps  more  transitory  than  the  others,  and  its  agricultural 
resources. 

I  trust  that  the  deliberations  of  this  Congress  will  take  into  consider- 
ation the  principles  of  conservation,  not  only  of  one  resource,  but  consid- 
ering all  the  resources  in  the  one  group. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  attention.     (APPLAUSE). 

The  President.  I  now  present  the  State  Mining  Inspector,  who  will 
respond  on  behalf  of  the  great  State  of  Texas. 

MR.  ISADORE  J.  BROMAN :  Mr.  Chairman,  members  of  the 
American  Mining  Congress  and  fellow  delegates :  In  behalf  of  the  Lone 
Star  State,  the  Empire  of  the  Southwest,  I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation 
of  the  hospitable  words  of  welcome  addressed  to  us  by  the  representatives  of 
the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

It  is  always  a  great  pleasure  to  attend  the  American  Mining  Congress 
especially  so  in  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love,  a  city  so  famous  in  our  political 
history  as  being  the  birthplace  of  American  Independence  and  more  recently 
famous  as  having  gained  an  important  victory  in  the  most  popular  of  Amer- 
ican sports.  (Laughter  and  Applause). 


22  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

Speaking  of  Philadelphia  as  being  the  birthplace  of  American  Inde- 
pendence calls  to  my  mind  the  fact  that  Texas  enjoys  the  unique  position  of 
possessing  the  right  to  celebrate  two  independence  days.  We  did  not  belong 
to  the  thirteen  original  colonies,  as  you  know,  but  came  into  the  Union 
after  having  gained  our  own  independence.  We  have  memories  as  cherish- 
ed as  those  of  this  great  Cpmmonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  We  have  our  Al- 
amo and  San  Jacinto,  cherished  memories  in  the  hearts  of  all  Texans  and  as 
important  in  shaping  the  future  destiny  of  the  Great  Southwest  as  were 
Thermopylae  and  Marathon  to  the  Ancient  Greeks.  We  gained  our  inde 
pendence  and  came  into  the  Union,  hence  we  can  celebrate  one  independence 
gained  by  the  force  of  our  own  arms  and  one  which  was  bequeathed  to  us, 
in  common  with  all  the  States,  the  day  we  entered  the  Union.  In  spite, 
however,  of  the  differences  in  our  political  history  we  feel  one  with  you 
in  promoting  the  industrial  welfare  of  our  common  country. 

As  chief  mine  inspector  of  the  State  of  Texas  I  am  principally  inter- 
ested in  the  safety  of  mining.  I  have,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
gentleman  from  Alaska,  the  largest  territory  to  cover  of  any  mine  inspector 
of  the  country.  We  have  50,000  square  miles  of  coal  area  and  I  am  compelled 
to  travel  from  Texarcana  to  Eagle  Pass,  from  Thurber  to  Houston,  and 
anyone  familiar  with  the  State  of  Texas  can  appreciate  the  amount  of 
traveling  involved.  In  fact  I  cover  about  eight  thousand  miles  in  Texas  every 
year,  making  two  inspection  tours  during  the  year.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  we  have  an  enormous  area  of  workable  coal  this  resource  is  very  much 
undeveloped  as  we  have  but  50  mines  with  an  annual  output  of  some  over 
3,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal  and  lignite.  As  far  as  safety  is  concerned 
we  have  been  fortunate  in  having  possibly  the  lowest  mortality  rate  of  any 
State  in  the  Union,  being  about  one  and  two-tenths  per  thousand.  In  the 
promotion  of  the  safety  of  coal  mining  I  have  found,  from  my  experience 
as  mine  inspector,  that  this  problem  is  of  a  two -fold  nature.  The  average 
mine  operator  will  not  take  unnecessary  risks.  It  is  a  business  proposition 
with  him  to  keep  his  mines  in  the  safest  possible  condition,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  greatest  trouble  is  often  experienced  with  the  mine  em 
ployes.  Mining  being  a  hazardous  business  the  miner  often  becomes  indiffer- 
ent toward  the  dangers  surrounding  him,  and  careless  in  the  preservation  of 
his  own  safety  and  that  of  his  fellow  workmen.  As  an  illustration  of  this. 
the  fact  may  be  cited,  that  it  is  generally  the  old  experienced  miner  who  takes 
hazardous  risks  and  as  a  consequence  endangers  not  only  his  own  life  but 
|is  well  of  those  working  in  his  vicinity.  One  of  the  principal  problems  there- 
fore confronting  us  mine  inspectors  is  how  best  io  secure  the  co-operation 
of  the  individual  miner. 

As  a  geologist,  I  am  also  interested  in  the  development  of  our  natural 
resources,  especially  in  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources  in  which 
our  State  is  wonderfully  rich.  Almost  every  mineral  catalogued  is  to  be 
found  in  Texas,  though  not  all  of  them  in  commercial  quantities.  We  have 
rich  deposits  of  iron,  zinabar,  zinc,  some  silver,  formations  rich  in  oil,  salt 
and  valuable  clay  deposits.  It  is  only  during  the  present  year,  however,'  that 
our  State  mineral  lands  have  been  open  to  development.  These  land's  are 
now  open  to  prospecting  and  development  on  a  royalty  basis  and  I  think  this 
act  of  legislation  will  to  a  great  extent  lend  stimulous  to  mineral  develop- 
ment. 

Our  great  need  in  To  as  at  the  present  time  is  more  capital  and  more 
people.  We  could,  I  believe,  with  our  wonderful  agricultural  resources,  easily 
support  from  fifty  <o  seventy- five  million  people  in  the  State  of  Texas,  but 
we  have  not  the  people.  We  need  more  people,  we  need  more  capital  and 
we  need  technical  and  trained  men  to  develop  our  resources  along  all  lines. 

The  State  of  Texas  is  deeply  interested  in  the  work  carried  on  by  the 
American  Mining  Congress.  Safety,  conservation  ?nd  efficiency,  these  are 
the  principles  which  we  are  all  working  for  and  the  State  of  Texas  is  willing 
to  lend  its  support  in  the  furtherance  of  these  principles.  We  experience  a 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  23 

need,  however,  of  getting  into  closer  contact  with  the  Congress,  its  problems 
and  its  aims,  and  for  that  reason  I  invite  you  to  ccme  down  to  Texas  at 
some  early  date,  that  we  may  show  you  some  good  old-fashioned  Southern 
hospitality  and  become  better  acquainted  with  you.  I  thank  you.  (AP- 
PLAUSE). 

The  President.  The  State  of  West  Virginia  will  be  represented  by 
Mr.  Neil  Robinson,  secretary  of  the  West  Virginia  Mine  Operators'  Associa- 
tion of  Charleston. 

MR.  ROBINSON:  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen:  In  behalf  of  the 
coal  interests  of  West  Virginia  I  desire  to  express  our  high  appreciation  of 
your  courtesy  in  extending  an  invitation  to  extend  the  sessions  of  this  great 
Congress.  The  interests  of  your  organization  extends  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
and  the  discussions  at  your  conventions  have  served  as  the  originating  im- 
pulses for  industrial  advances  of  national  importance 

In  nearly  all  of  the  work  that  you  have  undertaken,  West  Virginia  has 
been  heartily  in  accord,  and  I  hope  the  time  may  not  be  far  distant  when 
the  aggressive  industrial,  commercial  and  political  forces  of  the  State  may 
become  active  helpers  in  your  campaigns  for  the  advancement  of  industry 
upon  humanitarian  and  scientific  lines.  There  is  room  in  this  great  economic 
cause  for  the  power  and  strength  of  the  men  who  have  gone  into  the  rugged 
mountains  of  West  Virginia  and  created  ways  and  means  to  mine  and  mar- 
ket almost  70,000,000  tons  of  coal  per  year. 

We  will  closely  follow  your  discussions  of  Workmen's  Compensation 
Law,  Arbitration  as  a  factor  in  Mining  and  Cost  ot  Production,  for  the  im- 
mediate influence  they  may  have  on  West  Virginia  mining  conditions,  and 
we  will  be  particularly  interested  in  your  consideration  of  the  proposed 
Interstate  Trade  Commission. 

Many  of  our  operators  have  opposed  this  measure,  holding  that  any 
commission,  regardless  of  the  manner  of  its  appointment,  would  regard  coal 
as  a  commodity  of  such  universal  use  that  no  appreciable  increase  in  price 
through  State  or  district  agreements  could  be  legalized,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  commission  might  be  perfectly  willing  ro  allow  the  manufacturers 
of  mining  machines,  rails,  oils,  explosives  and  other  necessities  entering  into 
the  cost  of  production  to  standardize  and  increase  their  prices  very  materially. 
This  view  is  given  more  frequent  expression  in  West  Virginia,  perhaps,  than 
in  some  of  the  other  coal  producing  States  where  market  conditions  are 
helped  by  local  demand. 

The  American  Mining  Congress  is  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  ex- 
istence for  the  material  progress  of  industrial  processes  and  your  delibera- 
tions at  this  convention  will  mark  another  step  forward.  In  behalf  of  the 
State  of  West  Virginia  and  the  representatives  present  I  thank  you  for 
the  opportunity  that  has  been  given  us  to  attend  your  deliberations.  We  wish 
you  abundant  success  and  hope  the  Congress  may  continue  to  grow  in  mem- 
bership and  influence  and  that  its  watchwords  "safety,  efficiency  and  con- 
servation" may  ever  stand  as  markers  of  your  accomplishments.  (AP- 
PLAUSE). 

The  President.  The  State  of  Wyoming  is  represented  here  by  Mr.  P. 
J.  Quealy,  of  Kemmerer. 

MR.  QUEALY:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  convention: 
When  I  came  here  this  morning  I  was  thinking  only  of  some  way  of  making 
apologies  for  the  reason  that  none  of  our  men  were  present  and  I  was 
afraid  that  Wyoming  would  not  be  properly  represented  at  this  Congress.  A 
few  moments  ago  I  was  cheered  by  seeing  the  face  of  our  good  Governor 
from  Wyoming,  who  is  here,  and  with  your  permission  I  desire  to  substitute 
him.  (APPLAUSE). 

GOVERNOR  CAREY,  OF  WYOMING:     Mr.  Chairman— 

PRESIDENT  BRUNTON :    Come  forward,  please. 


24  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

GOVERNOR  JOSEPH  M.  CAREY,  OF  WYOMING:  I  haven't  any 
speech.  (Laughter).  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen:  You  would  naturally 
suppose  that  Mr.  Quealy's  speech  was  inspired  by  me.  I  have  just  told  him 
that  after  he  goes  back  to  Wyoming  I  would  have  him  executed  in  the  same- 
way  some  of  his  friends  have  gone  before  him.  (Laughter). 

A  Mining  Convention  can  do  an  immense  amount  of  good  at  this 
time.  We  in  the  West  are  very  much  disorganized  because  of  the  various 
orders  and  the  various  proclamations  affecting  the  mining  interests  ot 
my  State,  and  of  other  States.  I  do  not  believe  that  you  realize,  you 
people  who  live  in  the  East,  how  much  must  be  ultimately  done  in 
the  Western  country.  Wyoming  is  a  very  large  State,  and  contains  a 
great  many  square  miles — nearly  100,000.  It  has  immense  mining  re- 
sources, and  the  recent  report  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 
shows  there  were  probably  more  tons  of  commercial  coal  in  the  State 
of  Wyoming  than  in  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  We  not  only  have 
the  great  coal  areas,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  square  miles  of  coal 
lands,  but  we  have  enormous  areas  of  oil  lands,  oil  discovered  in  the 
extreme  Southwestern  portion  of  the  State,  against  Utah  and  oil  dis- 
covered in  the  extreme  Northeastern  portion  of  the  State,  a  strip  of 
country  running  across  the  State  diagonally  from  these  two  corners, 
in  which  oil  had  been  discovered  and  in  which  oil  springs  were  found. 

Ever  since  I  went  to  that  State,  or  into  that  territory,  from  this 
city  in  1869,  I  had  heard  of  these  oil  wells.  We  paid  little  attention  to 
it.  We  were  engaged  in  the  live  stock  business,  breeding  horses,  sheep, 
cattle  and  goats  on  the  immense  pasturages  that  are  there.  Recently 
there  commenced  the  development  of  oil  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
State  near  what  is  known  as  the  town  of  Caspar.  The  Standard  Oil 
Company  now  has  representatives  there,  and  are  now  building  works  for 
the  refining  and  reduction  of  this  oil  that  will  cost  over  $2,000,000,000. 
They  already  have  enormous  works  and  are  increasing  the  capacity  for 
the  refining  of  the  oil. 

The  Northwestern  Railroad  System  has  changed  its  engines  from 
using  coal  upon  all  its  lines  in  Wyoming  and  Nebraska,  and  is  getting 
ready  to  use  oil  instead.  I  see  there  have  been  orders  withdrawing  a 
great  deal  of  land  from  entry  because  there  are  oil  indications;  a  great 
deal  of  land  has  been  withdrawn  because  coal  is  known  to  exist. 

We  believe  in  conservation;  we  firmly  believe  in  it.  As  the  gentle- 
man, whose  name  I  did  not  catch  (Mr.  Maurer,  of  Ohio),  stated,  we  lose 
forty  per  cent,  of  our  coal  in  many  of  the  districts  where  they  are 
mining,  largely  on  account  of  competition.  They  have  to  dig  coal  out 
as  quickly  as  possible,  load  it  on  cars  and  ship  it  to  the  markets,  so  as 
to  pay  the  miners  and  pay  the  freight  bills  on  it.  There  is  lots  of  coal 
left  in  the  mines  that  will  be  left  there  forever — it  will  never  be  mined. 

Now,  it  requires  constructive  legislation  in  reference  to  these  mat- 
ters. The  Roosevelt  administration  discovered  that  if  something  was 
not  done  we  would  be  without  timber.  They  started  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, but  they  have  not  yet  worked  out  the  problem  of  how  we  can  best 
save  and  conserve  these  resources.  If  we  take  the  question  of  lumber, 
when  we  think  of  it,  it  makes  us  all  sad.  It  makes  us  regret  we  are  in 
the  condition  in  which  we  find  ourselves. 

In  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  I  can  recall  when  I  was  a  boy  those 
beautiful  white  pine  trees;  I  can  recall  when  this  product  was  great  in 
the  forests  of  the  Northwest,  in  the  forests  of  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 
If  only  the  trees  that  were  matured  had  been  taken  out  and  sent  to  the 
mill;  if  the  young  timber  had  been  protected;  if  those  forests  had  been 
protected  from  fire,  there  would  have  been  enough  of  that  most  beau- 
tiful lumber,  probably,  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  all  time 
to  come.  Yet  the  -forests  were  wiped  out.  But  a  small  portion  of  it  was 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  25 

consumed  by  the  sawmills,  the  larger  proportion  being  consumed  through 
fire,  waste  in  cutting  down  thrifty  trees  and  permitting  them  to  rot,  so 
the  time  came  when  it  was  opportune  to  take  up  this  question  of  con- 
servation. We  need  the  coal;  we  need  the  lumber;  we  need  the  oil,  and 
the  question  arises  how  can  we  use  it  and  yet  save  that  which  is  not 
required;  how  can  we  use  it  and  not  destroy  and  not  waste? 

Now,  I  am  heartily  in  accord  with  the  purposes  of  this  Mining  Con- 
vention. I  believe  in  it,  and  I  believe  in  the  work  it  is  trying  to  do.  I 
believe  these  Congresses  should  be  kept  alive,  that  men  who  are 
acquainted  with  this  question  should  try  to  work  out  these  matters  and 
bring  about  the  best  possible  results.  I  thank  you,  but  in  thanking  you 
I  insist  that  you  shall  insist  that  Mr.  Quealy  read  his  paper.  (Applause.) 

President  Brunton  again  calls  on  Mr.  P.  J.  Quealy. 

MR.  QUEALY:     Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  Wyoming,  I  am  pleased  to  join  with  the 
delegates  and  members  of  this  Congress  in  thanking  the  Honorable 
Mayor  and  this  great  and  historic  city  of  Philadelphia  for  his  words  ot 
welcome  and  generous  reception,  and  also  appreciate  the  interest  which 
he  so  vigorously  manifests  in  the  business  and  subject  matter  for  which 
*ve  are  here  assembled. 

I  am  here  more  to  apologize  for  my  appearance  rather  than  make  a 
speech  or  response,  as  called  upon  to  do — having  had  no  opportunity  to 
study  the  program  to  be  discussed.  My  appointment  by  Governor  Carey 
as  delegate  here  was  no  doubt  a  matter  of  expediency  rather  than  any 
confidence  he  could  have  had  that  I  could  render  any  valuable  service  in 
the  important  business  to  be  transacted. 

However,  while  Wyoming  is  among  the  smallest  States  of  the  Union 
in  point  of  population,  we  yield  to  no  State  in  the  quality  of  our  citizen- 
ship, and  the  importance  of  our  public  men  in  national  affairs. 

We  have  furnished  President  McKinley  his  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  an  Assistant  Attorney  General;  one  of  our  good 
citizens  is  now  a  most  important  and  honored  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States. 

Our  Senators  in  Congress  have  for  years  occupied  positions  and 
chairmanships  of  the  most  important  committees,  including  Appropria- 
tion, and  Military  Affairs  and  the  Judiciary  Committee.  Our  single 
handed,  lonely  Congressman  is  today  the  most  active  and  capable  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  and  of  which  committee  he  was 
chairman  for  many  years. 

Our  Ex-Governor,  John  E.  Osborne,  is  in  the  Cabinet  of  the  pres- 
ent administration  as  First  Assistant  Secretary  of  State.  Some 
Wyoming  men  are  abroad  in  our  Island  possessions,  filling  most  im- 
portant judicial  and  other  high  positions  of  honor  and  dignity,  and  I 
presume  most  of  the  balance  of  our  150,000  souls  are  busy  occupying 
positions  of  relative  usefulness  at  home,  hence  the  Governor's  excuse 
in  sending  me  here. 

While  I  am  boasting  of  the  activities  of  our  citizens  in  important 
National  affairs,  I  might  be  further  excused  for  reminding  you  of  the 
fact  that  our  present  Governor,  Jos.  M.  Carey,  whom  you  have  just 
listened  to,  while  Senator  from  Wyoming,  was  the  author  of,  and  placed 
on  the  National  statutes,  the  Carey  Land  Act,  which  is  the  only  law 
that  gives  the  individual  States  even  a  look-in  in  the  administration  of 
the  public  lands. 

With  a  citizenship  so  capable  and  progressive  as  I  have  described 
to  you,  you  will  probably  admit  there  must  be  something  wrong  when 
I  tell  you  that  Wyoming  was  admitted  to  the  Union  of  States  some  23 
years  ago,  with  an  area  of  97,000  square  miles  of  territory,  and  it  has 
been  demonstrated  time  and  again  that  large  areas  of  our  State  in 


26  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

productiveness  and  character  of  soil  has  exceeded  in  yield  and  quality 
of  the  produce  of  the  most  populous  States  East  of  the  Mississippi 
River. 

Yet  about  85  per  cent  of  our  entire  area  is  still  public  land  in 
the  ownership  and  possession  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
Unwise  policies  have  been  urged  upon  previous  administrations  by 
faddists  and  reservationists  under  the  good  name  of  conservation,  and 
unless  corrected  by  the  broader  views  of  the  present  administration 
our  land  will  remain  undeveloped  for  many  years  to  come. 

The  administration  of  the  public  lands  has  been  such  a  farce  and 
a  scandal  and  the  average  citizen  has  been  so  intimidated  that  he  no 
longer  has  the  courage  to  undertake  settlement  and  run  the  risk  of 
having  his  name  published  in  the  newspapers  through  interviews  with 
special  agents  accusing  him  of  conspiracy  and  fraudulent  entry. 

The  cost  of  attorneys'  fees  and  transportation  of  an  entryman  and 
his  witnesses  to  the  land  office  in  an  endeavor  to  unwind  the  reels  of 
yards  of  red  tape  and  meet  the  contention  of  special  agents  that  the 
land  is  reserved  for  coal,  petroleum,  phosphate,  power  sites,  reservoirs, 
forest  reserves,  or  other  similar  fads  invented  by  Mr.  Pinchot  and  his 
disciples,  make  the  effort  too  great  and  the  expense  too  high  for  the 
ordinary  citizen  to  undertake. 

This  is  the  great  handicap  placed  upon  the  citizens  of  Wyoming 
and  other  public  land  States — and  the  one  that  bears  most  heavily  upon 
their  shoulders. 

The  price  placed  upon  our  coal  lands  within  15  miles  of  a  railroad 
runs  from  $50  to  $510  an  acre,  and  if  anyone  undertakes  to  procure 
title  even  at  that,  he  is  branded  as  a  conspirator  in  the  public  press,  and 
a  grand  jury  is  impaneled  to  indict  him,  contrary  to  the  principles  of 
law  and  inherent  rights  of  justice  as  guaranteed  by  the  constitution. 

The  Government  failing  to  indict  him,  he  is  given  the  privilege 
of  giving  up  the  land  or  fighting  the  Government  through  the  courts 
at  a  cost,  for  court  expenses  and  lawyers,  greater  than  the  same  num- 
ber of  acres  could  be  purchased  in  West  Virginia  or  Kentucky. 

I  hope,  during  your  deliberations  here,  you  will  pass  suitable  reso- 
lutions condemning  such  policies  and  recommending  such  modifications 
of  the  Public  Land  Laws  as  will  prevent  the  Bureaus  of  the  Govern- 
ment not  only  from  legislating,  but  also  from  nullifying  the  laws  as 
enacted  by  Congress. 

The  present  Secretary  of  the  Interior  seems  to  be  inclined  to  take 
a  broader  view  of  the  Public  Lands  question,  and  I  hope  you  will  by 
resolution  and  publication  as  far  as  possible  support  and  encourage 
him. 

Emancipate  the  Public  Land  States  by  the  enactment  of  liberal  land 
laws  which  will  place  these  lands  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  encoui- 
age  emigration  for  their  settlement  and  development,  provide  for  their 
irrigation  and  reclamation — as  recently  suggested  by  Secretary  Lane — 
and  you  will  have  done  more  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  than  even  the 
reduction  of  the  (Tariff.  This  done,  and  I  will  promise  a  quality  of 
citizenship  from  Wyoming  which  will  meet  the  most  exalted  American 
ideals. 

THE  SECRETARY:  The  President  requests  me  to  announce  the 
Committee  on  Credentials: 

Wm.   Griffith,   Pennsyvania. 

H.  N.  Lawrie,  Oregon. 

E.  L.  Wolcott,  Colorado. 

I  want  to  urge  upon  those  who  are  present  who  have  not  registered 
to  do  so  at  once.  There  are  some  members  of  the  Reception  Com- 
mittee who  have  received  Reception  Badges  only,  but  have  not  regis- 
tered, and  they  will  not  be  entitled  to  a  pass  to  the  Mining  Show  un- 
less they  are  registered  regularly. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  27 

The  evening's  program  includes  the  President's  annual  address, 
at  8  P.  M.,  followed  by  a  reception  to  the  delegates  given  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Philadelphia.  Tuesday  afternoon  a  river  excursion  upon  a 
chartered  steamer  to  leave  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Street  promptly  at  two 
o'clock.  On  Wednesday  afternoon  the  ladies  who  accompany  the  Dele- 
gates will  be  tendered  an  automobile  ride  to  Valley  Forge.  Thursday 
evening,  a  smoker.  The  program  for  the  week  has  been  printed,  and 
will  be  found  in  the  corridor. 

The  membership  of  the  Resolutions  Committee  will  be  announced 
tomorrow  morning  at  the  opening  session.  This  committee  consists  of 
one  member  from  each  state  represented  in  the  convention.  We  ask 
each  state  delegation,  at  the  earliest  time  possible,  to  meet  in  caucus  and 
to  select  its  member  of  the  Resolution  Committee.  The  Resolution  Com- 
mittee's work  is  the  most  important  work  of  the  convention.  Resolutions 
under  the  rules  must  be  introduced,  read  by  the  Secretary,  and  without 
debate  referred  to  the  Resolutions  Committee. 

PRESIDENT  BRUNTON:  Gentlemen,  I  want  to  thank  you  for 
your  attendance.  The  meeting  is  adjourned  until  eight  o'clock  tonight. 

MONDAY,  OCTOBER  20,  1913. 
Evening  Session. 

Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor,  acting  as  Chaifman,  called  the  meeting  to  order. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Immediately  after  the  delivery  of  the  President's 
address  we  are  asked  to  go  to  Horticultural  Hall,  where  a  special  moving 
picture  exhibit  of  mining  operations  has  been  arranged. 

President  D.  W.  Brunton  will  now  deliver  his  address  for  the  year. 

PRESIDENT  BRUNTON:  (Applause)  Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen:  I  have  for  several  years  entertained  the  belief  that  the  Presi- 
dential address  was  not  a  very  desirable  feature  of  the  week's  program, 
and  that  it  might  as  well  be  dispensed  with. 

President  Brunton's  address  will  be  found  at  page  111  of  this  report. 

THE  CHAIRMAN:  We  stand  adjourned  until  tomorrow  morning. 

TUESDAY,   OCTOBER   21,    1913. 
Morning  Session. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  first  thing  will  be  the  selection  of  the 
Resolutions  Committee. 

THE  SECRETARY:  As  was  stated  yesterday,  the  Resolutions 
Committee  is  composed  of  one  member  from  each  state  represented  in 
the  Convention,  chosen  by  the  delegation  from  such  state.  I  will  call 
the  roll  of  states,  and  each  delegation  will  kindly  name  the  man  selected 
to  represent  the  state. 

(Secretary  calls  roll.) 

MR.  S.  A.  TAYLOR:  Many  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegates  are  not 
here  yet,  but  I  would  like  to  ask  that  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  meet 
at  the  rear  of  the  room  to  select  their  delegate.  Probably  the  other 
states  ought  to  do  the  same  thing. 

MR.  C.  E.  MAURER:  I  think  the  same  thing  applies  to  Ohio.  I 
think  they  could  scrape  up  a  good  delegation  here  if  they  will  get 
together. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     I  suggest  you  follow  the  suit  of  Pennsylvania. 

THE  SECRETARY:  It  occurs  to  me  that,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
we  are  to  take  a  boat  trip  this  afternoon,  it  might  be  well  to  arrange 
to  caucus  on  the  boat  so  a  full  representation  may  be  had. 


28  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  believe  that  idea  is  a  good  one.  We  will 
get  them  all  together  on  the  boat  and  call  the  Resolutions  Committee 
again  this  evening.  We  will  now  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  a  paper  on 
the  "Taxation  of  Mining  Properties,"  by  one  who  is  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  subject,  and  to  whom  it  will  be  a  great  pleasure  to  listen,  Mr. 
R.  V.  Norris,  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 

MR.  NORRIS:  I  think  that  Professor  Smyth,  of  Harvard,  is  respon- 
sible for  my  appearing  o"n  the  program.  He  was  asked  to  write  this 
paper,  and,  with  the  skill  of  long  experience,  he  promptly  dodged  and 
threw  the  responsibility  upon  me.  It  has  been  my  fate  to  be  actively 
engaged  in  many  tax  fights,  so  that  if  I  quote  the  Supreme  Court  occa- 
sionally, do  not  for  a  moment  assume  that  I  claim  to  belong  to  the  legal 
profession. 

Mr.  Norris'  paper  will  be  found  on  page  332  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Our  next  paper  will  be  on  the  same  subject, 
by  Dr.  H.  M.  Chance,  of  Philadelphia.  Will  Dr.  Chance  please  come 
forward? 

Pending  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Chance,  our  Secretary,  Mr.  Callbreath, 
will  read  a  paper  on  "Mining  Taxation,"  by  the  Hon.  D.  L.  Webb,  of 
Denver.  Mr.  Webb  is  a  prominent  attorney,  who  has  been  retained  by 
various  mining  corporations  in  Colorado  to  defend  them  in  tax  suits,  and 
is  very  familiar  with  the  subject  and  the  extent  to  which  the  precious 
metal  miners  are  overtaxed,  especially  in  the  district  of  Cripple  Creek, 
where  his  principal  practice  has  been. 

Mr.  Callbreath  will  read  all  or  part  of  Mr.  Webb's  paper. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen:  I 
am  sorry  this  paper  was  received  too  late  to  have  it  printed,  which  would 
have  beeri  the  better  way  to  present  it  to  you. 

Mr.  Webb's  paper  will  be  found  on  page  345  of  this  report. 

CHARLES  E.  VAN  BARNEVELD,  of  Minnesota:  Mr.  Chairman, 
I  would  like  to  say  just  a  few  words  with  reference  to  Dr.  Webb's  state- 
ment regarding  taxation.  I  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  system  of 
taxation  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  while  connected  with  the  State  Uni- 
versity. The  state  uses  the  mining  department  of  the  university  to 
check  up  all  of  the  ore  estimates  which  are  submitted  to  the  mining 
companies  and  the  tax  commissions.  These  estimates  are  gone  over  very 
carefully  and  are  checked  over  by  two  independent  members  of  the 
mining  department  of  the  faculty,  and  when  any  discrepancies  are  found, 
these  members  of  the  mining  department,  at  their  discretion,  may,  in 
addition  to  submitting  these  discrepancies  to  the  tax  commission,  take 
the  matter  up  unofficially  with  the  mining  company.  That  is  left  entirely 
to  the  discretion  of  the  department,  on  account  of  the  peculiar  methods 
of  ore  estimation  which  are  in  vogue. 

There  are  several  methods  of  estimating  ore,  and  there  are  some 
decided  differences  in  these  methods,  and  so  it  sometimes  happens  that 
when  these  estimates  are  checked  over  according  to  one  system  that 
an  unofficial  conference  with  the  representative  of  the  mining  company 
may  make  an  adjustment  possible  without  giving  undesirable  publicity 
to  the  necessity  for  an  adjustment.  There  are  errors  due  to  method, 
rather  than  errors  due  to  intent.  I  think  I  might  say  that  the  method  of 
assessment  is  as  satisfactory  to  the  mine  owners  of  the  state  as  an  ad 
valorem  system  may  be.  I  agree  with  Dr.  Webb's  opinion  that  such  a 
system  could  not  be  applied  to  the  precious  metal  nor,  perhaps,  to  the 
base  metal  deposits  in  the  West.  Such  a  system  is  only  applicable  to 
iron  and  coal  and  similar  deposits. 

There  have  been  a  few  disputes  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  resulting 
from  this  method  of  taxation,  but  where  there  has  been  the  right  intent 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  29 

on  both  sides  it  has  not  been  difficult  to  reconcile  the  disputing  elements, 
and  so,  on  the  whole,  the  system  may  be  said  to  work  out  satisfactorily 
to  both  the  state  and  the  mine  owners. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Pending  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Chance,  I  think 
we  had  better  follow  the  program,  which  states  the  discussion  on  mining 
taxation  will  be  led  by  Dr.  H.  L.  Smyth,  from  Cambridge,  Mass. 

PROFESSOR  SMYTH:  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:  I  have 
listened  to  Mr.  Norris's  paper  with  much  interest,  especially  to  his 
statement  that  specific  taxes  are  a  better  basis  for  the  taxation  of 
mining  property  than  the  usual  method  of  valuation  under  the  Gen- 
eral Property  Tax  Law.  This  interests  me  because  in  the  last  few 
years  we  have  had  the  same  problem  in  connection  with  the  taxation 
of  iron  properties  in  Michi'gan  and  have  come  to  a  different  conclusion. 
We  have  the  same  difficulties  there  over  the  taxation  of  mining  prop- 
erty under  the  General  Property  Tax  Law  that  have  been  encountered 
in  Pennsylvonia.  These  difficulties  arise  solely  over  taxation  for  state 
purposes,  that  is  to  say,  over  ten  or  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  taxes 
levied.  The  fundamental  trouble  is  the  fact  that  the  valuations  of 
mining  property  made  by  local  assessors  are  generally  not  made  on 
any  uniform  basis  and  that  these  valuations  cannot  be  equalized  by  the 
ordinary  Boards  of  Equalization  with  the  valuations  of  other  forms 
of  property  in  the  state. 

In  Michigan  we  have  had  a  long  experience  with  specific  taxes  on 
the  mining  industry,  and  we  have  given  them  up.  In  1853  the  Legisla- 
ture levied  a  tonnage  tax  of  10  cents  a  ton  on  iron  ore.  The  rate  was 
reduced  in  1872  to  three  cents,  and  in  1873  to  one  cent,  at  which  figure 
it  remained  until  1891  when  it  was  given  up  altogether.  We  then  went 
back  to  the  ad  valorem  system  with  valuations  made  by  the  local 
assessor  under  the  General  Property  Tax  Law.  Conditions  are  per- 
haps somewhat  peculiar  in  Michigan  because  there  is  a  great  preponder- 
ance of  mining  property  in  the  Upper  Peninsular  and  of  other  forms 
of  taxable  property  as  well  as  of  political  power  in  the  Lower  Penin- 
sula. This,  together  with  exaggerated  notions  on  the  part  of  the  ignor- 
-  -nade  in  mining,  inevitably  leads  to  the  general  be- 
lief that  mining  property  was  undervalued,  and  caused  the  Legislature 
in  1911  to  give  the  State  Board  of  Tax  Commissioners  authority  to 
value  all  the  mines  of  Michigan. 

Acting  for  the  Board  this  valuation  was  made  by  Mr.  Finlay  of 
New  York  in  the  early  summer  of  1911.  The  principle  and  method  of 
this  valuation  have  provoked  wide  discussion,  and  it  may  interest  the 
members  of  the  Congress  to  know  how  it  has  worked  in  practice  and 
how  the  results  are  generally  regarded  by  the  people  most  affected, 
namely  the  operators. 

Mr.  Finlay's  principle  was  to  capitalize  the  net  profits  expected  on 
an  annuity  basis.  He  first  determined  the  probable  annual  net  profits 
and  the  probable  life  of  the  mine.  Part  of  the  annual  net  profits  he 
treated  as  income.  The  capital  sum  which  at  five  per  cent,  would 
yield  that  income  was  the  value  of  the  mine.  The  division  of  the  an- 
nual net  profits  into  these  two  parts  was  made  by  a  well-known  alge- 
braic procedure  followed  by  actuaries  in  solving  similar  problems. 

In  order  to  determine  annual  profits  it  is  necessary  to  know  the 
cost  per  ton,  the  selling  price  per  ton,  and  the  tonnage  that  will  be 
annually  produced.  In  order  to  know  the  life  of  the  mine  it  is 
also  necessary  to  know  the  total  tonnage  that  the  mine  will  produce. 
These  four  factors  are  more  or  less  matters  of  fact  which  are  capable 
of  being  more  or  less  closely  approximated  from  past  experience  or 
by  physical  examination  in  the  case  of  each  mine.  In  addition,  there  are 


30  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

two  other  factors  in  the  Finlay  valuation,  namely,  the  rates  of  interest 
and  these  were  assumed.  The  general  result  of  the  Finlay  valuation 
was  greatly  to  increase  the  valuations  of  the  iron  mines.  The  Tax  Com- 
mission made  general  reductions  of  ten  per  cent,  and  five  per  cent,  'n 
Mr.  Finlay's  figures,  and  also  made  adjustments  in  special  cases  when 
errors  had  been  made  and  over-valuation  was  evident.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  general  complaint,  and  much  criticism  among  the  operators. 
The  criticisms  of  the  Finlay  method  have  been  mainly  directed 
against  three  of  the  factors,  namely,  the  total  tonnage,  the  annual  ton- 
nage, and  the  rate  of  interest  properly  to  be  expected  from  a  mimn£ 
investment  which  Mr.  Finlay  assumed  at  five  per  cent.  As  regards  the 
first,  it  may  be  said  that  Mr.  Finlay  assumed  extensions  of  ore  beyond 
exposed  faces  arbitarily  and  in  some  cases  unreasonably.  The  Tax  Com- 
mission has  modified  this  procedure  by  uniformly  assuming  an  exten- 
sion of  ifcx>  feet  below  the  lowest  developed  level,  if  the  deposit  shows 
no  evidence  of  diminishing  in  size.  As  regards  the  annual  tonnage  Mr. 
Finlay  assumed  that  if  a  mine  were  equipped  and  opened  up  for  a 
larger  production  than  it  had  been  making,  it  ought  to  produce  this 
larger  tonnage.  This  of  course  increased  annual  profits  and  the  assessed 
valuation.  He  apparently  did  not  take  into  acciunt  the  possibility  of 
marketing  this  additional  tonnage.  The  result  was  that  the  sum  of  the 
annual  tonnages  which  he  assumed  for  all  the  iron  mines  of  Michigan 
was  much  in  excess  of  the  tonnage  that  these  mines  had  ever  been 
able  to  sell  in  any  preceeding  year.  The  Tax  Commission  has  also 
corrected  this  assumption. 

The  main  criticism  of  the  Finlay  valuation  has  been  directed 
against  his  assumption  that  a  reasonable  return  on  a  mining  invest- 
ment is  five  per  cent.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  figure  is 
absurd,  whether  judged  by  the  usual  practice  of  engineers  in  recom- 
mending such  investments  to  their  clients,  or  by  their  inherent  disad- 
vantages suck  as  the  concentration  of  physical  hazards,  lack  of  liquidity, 
fluctuation  of  income,  etc.  The  Tax  Commission  has  taken  some  ac- 
count of  these  criticisms  by  raising  the  interest  rate  to  six  per  cent. 
this  year,  but  this  factor  will  continue  to  cause  great  dissatisfaction 
until  it  is  given  its  proper  value  of  not  less  than  ten  per  cent.  An  ex- 
perience of  three  years  has,  I  think,  convinced  the  operators  of  Mich- 
igan that  with  due  care  in  the  determination  of  the  factors,  the  Finlay 
method  is  well  adopted  to  determining  the  value  of  iron  mining  prop- 
erty, and  that  it  will  give  more  equitable  results,  not  only  as  between 
the  mines  themselves,  but  as  between  them  and  other  forms  of  property 
than  any  other.  Its  great  merit,  from  their  point  of  view,  is  that  it 
afford  a  satisfactory  method  of  keeping  the  mines  under  the  General 
Property  Tax  Law.  The  alternative  is  the  tonnage  tax,  and  to  that 
they  are  unalterably  opposed. 

A  DELEGATE:  Is  that  basis  of  valuation  used  for  local  taxes  in 
the  counties  and  towns  as  well? 

MR.  SMYTH:     It  is  used  for  local  taxation  as  well. 

A  DELEGATE:  What  was  Mr.  Finley's  method  of  arriving  at 
taxes  on  undeveloped  or  only  partially  developed  properties? 

PROFESSOR  SMYTH:  In  developing  mines  he  assumed  that 
these  properties  would  be  developed  in  a  certain  time,  ten  or  fifteen 
years,  and  he  assumed  an  average  cost  for  development,  spread  that 
over  the  life  of  the  mine  as  part  of  the  operating  cost  and  treated  it 
as  a  deferred  payment. 

MR.  GRIFFITH:  While  listening  to  Professor  Smyth's  report 
I  have  been  thinking  how  it  would  work  in  our  anthracite  regions  in 
this  State.  It.  would  be  particularly  pleasing,  I  think,  to  some  of  our 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  31 

large  operatives  to  have  this  method  of  taxing  their  properties  on  their 
net  income,  because  there  would  not  be  any  net  income  and  conse- 
quently no  tax.  Many  of  our  'mines  are  operated  at  a  loss  of  ten  or 
fifteen  cents  per  ton  on  every  ton  they  take  out.  The  owners  have 
railroads  to  haul  this  coal  to  market,  and  they  make  up  the  mining  loss 
in  the  freight  charges  on  the  tonnage.  Some  of  the  largest  collieries 
we  have  in  the  region  are  thus  operating  at  a  loss,  so  that  in  these 
particular  instances  it  seems  to  me  that  the  net  profit  would  hardly 
answer  as  a  basis  for  taxation.  Of  course,  that  is  a  condition  we  have 
there,  and  while  it  is  one  that  is  attracting  a  great  deal  of  public  at- 
tention at  the  present  time  on  the  part  of  the  National  Government, 
and  one  which  many  of  our  Legislators  think  is  to  be  deplored,  still, 
I  am  going  to  say,  from  my  view-point,  it  is  the  greatest  God-send  the 
anthracite  regions  ever  had,  because  a  great  many  collieries  there 
would  otherwise  be  shut  down  and  thousands  of  men  would  be  out  of 
employment;  therefore  from  that  view-point  this  condition  is  an  excel- 
lent one  for  us. 

In  regard  to  the  general  matter  of  taxation  of  coal  lands,  it  has 
long  been  my  idea  that  we  need  a  general  revision  of  laws  for  that 
purpose.  I  think  in  most  of  the  States,  and  in  Pennsylvania,  the  laws 
were  made  seventy  odd  years  ago,  and  when  they  were  framed  there 
was  no  thought  of  taxing  mineral  lands  under  these  laws.  They  were 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  taxing  surface  land  value  which 
could  be  judged  by  anybody.  Now  that  we  require  more  revenue,  we 
are  beginning  to  tax  the  minerals,  and  we  have  no  laws  under  which 
the  'minerals  can  be  taxed.  Therefore,  we  are  obliged  to  take  these 
old  laws,  and  apply  them  to  the  mineral  in  the  ground,  which  cannot 
be  seen  and  cannot  be  estimated  accurately,  and  the  result  is  very 
<t  seems  to  me  the  proper  way  is  to  enact  new 

laws  for  that  purpose,  and  according  to  my  view  they  should  be  based 
on  taxing  the  output  of  the  mine  in  some  way  or  another.  Our  old 
laws  in  reference  to  surface  property  permitted  that  unseated  lands 
non-remunerative  should  be  taxed  at  a  nominal  rate,  simply  sufficient 
to  give  the  owner  notice  that  the  State  has  cognizance  of  the  lands 
he  owns,  and  that  some  day  they  may  be  very  valuable,  and  therefore 
a  nominal  tax  or  charge  is  laid  to  restrain  his  speculative  notions.  Why 
not  tax  our  reserve  mineral  lands  simply  a  sufficient  nominal  taxation 
to  thus  restrain  speculative  tendencies,  and  place  the  burden  of  the 
tax  upon  the  active,  remunerative  property? 

Many  people  would  say  that  this  is  not  fair,  but  to  my  view 
it  is.  I  can  see  no  reason  why  the  non-renumerative  ton  of  coal  for 
example,  that  is  to  lay  in  the  ground  for  sixty,  eighty,  or  a  hundred 
years,  should  be  taxed  at  full  value  every  year  for  a  hundred  years, 
whereas  the  remunerative  ton  which  is  mined  this  year  escapes  with 
only  one  tax.  Each  ton  should  be  taxed  once  and  only  once. 

If  one  man  wnp  owns  a  clay  pit,  for  instance,  pays  taxes  on  the 
clay  which  is  in  His  land  for  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  should  the 
man  who  has  a  wheat  field  adjoining  pay  taxes  not  only  for  the  ground 
that  grows  his  wheat,  but  also  the  non-remunerative  clay  that  may 
compose  the  soil  of  his  wheat  field? 

A  DELEGATE,  interrupting:     "He  isn't." 

MR.  GRIFFITH  (Continuing):  He  isn't,  of  course,  but  the  simile 
is  very  apropos.  You  have  a  profitable  coal  mine  on  one  field,  and 
across  the  fence  is  a  reserve  property  which  may  not  be  worked  for 
years.  The  time  will  come  when  it  will  be  worked  possibly,  and  at 
that  time  the  output  should  be  taxed  heavily  enough  to  produce  a  just 
proportion  of  tax  for  this  property  having  in  mind  the  unproductive 
years  when  only  nominal  tax  was  exacted. 


32  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

THE  PRESIDENT:  With  your  permission,  gentlemen,  we  will 
interrupt  the  discussion  to  hear  Dr.  Chance's  paper  on  Mining  Taxation. 

DR.  H.  M.  CHANCE,  of  Philadelphia:  Mr.  President  and  Members 
of  the  Congress:  I  was  rather  led  to  anticipate  the  printing  of  this 
paper,  which  is  a  very  short  one,  and  prepared  under  high  pressure 
last  week.  I  find  t*hat  the  original  copy  which  I  had,  the  only  one 
furnished  to  the  Secretary,  is  not  available,  and  I  am,  therefore,  forced 
to  use  an  uncorrected  office  copy,  which  I  happened  to  find  in  my 
office — a  carbon  copy. 

Last  evening,  in  listening  to  the  address  of  the  President,  Mr. 
Brunton,  I  regretted  the  fact  that  the  subjects  especially  relating  to 
taxation  of  mines,  which  he  touched  upon  quite  extensively,  were  not 
thrown  open  to  discussion,  but  I  believe  we  will  accomplish  in  the 
discussion  which  is  now  in  progress,  and  which  will  follow,  an  elabora- 
tion of  the  points  which  he  had  made  so  forceful,  supplying  some 
data  which  I  would  like  to  have  used  in  this  paper, — facts  and  condi- 
tions with  which  I  was  not  thoroughly  familiar. 

Dr.  Chance's  paper  will  be  found  on  page  339  of  this  report. 

DR.  CHANCE  (Continuing):  I  would  say,  in  conclusion,  investi- 
gations made  cover  returns  from  probably  one  hundred  and  sixty  or 
one  hundred  and  seventy  counties  in  the  United  States  scattered  all 
over  the  Union,  the  principal  counties  in  which  coal  mining  is  carried 
on  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  and  I  find  that,  as  already  stated, 
even  under  the  laws  in  any  one  State,  where  the  law  is  supposed  to 
apply  to  the  whole  State,  the  practice  is  entirely  different.  Often- 
times in  adjoining  counties  there  is  no  similarity,  the  assessors,  of 
course,  depending  for  re-election  on  the  good-will  of  their  constituency, 
endeavoring  to  make  the  assessment  satisfactory,  both  to  the  operator 
and  to  the  residents  of  the  district.  There  is  less  dissatisfaction  from 
this  system  than  we  at  first  imagined  there  would  be.  Here  and  there 
we  find,  of  course,  owners  of  coal  lands  and  operators  who  are  dis 
satisfied  with  coal  assessments.  That,  perhaps,  culminates  in  the  anthra- 
cite region,  but,  generally  speaking,  in  the  soft  coal  regions  the  oper- 
ators are  fairly  well  satisfied.  Here  and  there  there  is  someone  who 
thinks  the  assessment  is  too  high,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  satisfied, 
not  because  the  system  is  a  good  system,  but,  in  its  application,  those 
who  are  empowered  by  law  to  pass  upon  these  matters,  whether  the 
assessors,  or  the  county  board  of  tax  revision,  or  the  county  super- 
visor, or  whoever  it  might  be,  aim  to  adjust  these  matters  and  make 
them  satisfactory,  so  that  in  very  few  cases  we  find  they  ever  go  into 
the  Courts  and  appeal  for  a  revision  or  recovery  under  protest.  I 
thank  you  for  your  attention.  (Applause.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Gentlemen,  the  subject  is  again  open  for 
discussion.  We  would  be  pleased  to  hear  from  as  many  as  possible, 
under  the  usual  five-minute  rule. 

MR.  VALLATT,  of  Michigan:  Professor  Smyth's  argument  on 
taxation  in  Michigan  was  very  interesting.  Being  in  that  State,  and 
connected  with  its  operators,  I  would  like  to  place  before  you  a  few 
arguments  that  will  be  of  interest  to  the  Congress,  not  that  they  will 
have  any  bearing  on  what  we  have  done  in  Michigan,  but  I  would  like 
to  open  the  subject  because  I  think  it  is  of  vital  importance.  Mr. 
Smyth  mentions  a  point  which  I  think  is  the  entire  key  to  his  argument. 
That  is,  we  had  three  months  in  which  to  value  the  entire  Lake 
Superior  District.  You  all  know  what  that  means.  In  copper  and 
iron  Mr.  Finley  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  deep  and  concentrated 
thought,  and  deserves  a  great  deal  of  credit  for  that,  but  his  assess- 
ments of  the  individual  properties  could  not  be  fair  and  just,  simply 
because,  if  for  no  other  reason,  he  had  not  the  time  to  go  into  it 
thoroughly. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  33 

Now,  in  the  case  of  the  Newport  mine,  we  made  an  estimate  on  the 
ore  in  sight  at  the  time  its  valuation  was  made,  which  was  approved 
as  correct — about  5^  million  tons.  Mr.  Finley  raised  this  to  sixteen 
million  tons;  instead  of  confining  himself  to  what  we  thought  mjght 
be  fair,  at  least  to  the  ore  in  sight,  he  attempted  to  estimate  on  a 
territory  or  a  section  at  least  three  hundred  feet  below  the  bottom 
level  of  the  mine,  beyond  which  there  was  absolutely  no  development, 
not  even  a  drill  hole.  In  other  words,  we  were  then  to  be  taxed  on  a 
commodity  which  was  not  in  sight,  and  which  was  not  known  to 
exist.  It  was  simply  an  estimate.  With  the  reduction  made  by  the 
Board  of  Review,  which  was  about  thirty  per  cent,  from  Mr.  Finley's 
figures,  it  left  eleven  million  four  hundred  thousand  tons  of  coal,  as 
against  our  five  and  a  half  million  tons — over  a  hundred  per  cent.  more. 

Now,  a  very  important  feature  about  this  new  taxation  method  is 
the  fact  that  it  has  very  seriously  retarded  and  discouraged  the  future 
development  of  ore  reserves  in  that  region.  We  are  now  taxed  on  ore 
which  we  cannot  possibly  reach  to  mine  for  twenty  years  to  come. 
The  question  is,  is  that  an  equitable  method?  We  think  it  is  not. 
Another  thing,  in  using  the  cost  of  production  figures,  the  efficiency 
of  the  management  of  the  property  is  thereby  taxed,  because  there  is 
a  greater  margin  between  the  cost  of  production  and  the  selling  price. 

Now,  I  think  this  subject  is  of  great  importance  to  the  mining 
industry,  and  I  would  like  to  see  some  careful  consideration  of  the 
same.  I  think  that  Mr.  Finley  was  chosen  merely  as  an  individual. 
This  taxation  which  involves  so  much  in  dollars  and  cents  in  the 
mining  communities  is  a  fact  which  should  be  noticed.  If  we  expect 
the  Board  of  Tax  Commission,  made  up  of  a  great  many  individuals, 
to  judge  our  tax,  why  should  one  individual  be  selected  to  formulate 
an  absolutely  new  method?  It  seems  to  me  it  would  be  far  more 
equitable  for  the  State  of  Michigan  to  have  taken  more  time,  in 
the  first  place,  at  least  a  year,  and  appointed  a  board  or  committee  of 
men  capable  of  handling  such  a  subject  and  leaving  it  to  their  careful 
investigation. 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  we  are  pretty  well  hooked  up  with  all  the 
other  phases  connected  with  mining;  we  are  pretty  well  up  on  safety 
and  efficiency.  Due  consideration  and  careful  thought  along  this  line 
will  be  of  as  great  importance  to  the  mining  interests  of  this  country 
as  anything  which  conies  before  this  Congress. 

JAMES  W.  MALCOLMSpN,  of  Missouri:  Gentlemen:  It  is  usual 
in  the  United  States  in  arriving  at  a  basis  for  taxation  to  take  into 
account  the  value  of  the  mining  property.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  the 
difference  in  other  countries.  In  Johannesburg,  where  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  mines  pay  dividends,  the  basis  of  taxation  is,  I  believe,  ap- 
proximately ten  per  cent,  of  the  profits.  In  Mexico,  on  the  other  hand, 
where  most  of  the  mines  are  worked  with  but  little  profit  or  without 
profit,  a  tax  of  this  description  would  produce  very  little  revenue.  At 
the  same  time  Mexico  is  not  a  rich  country,  and  the  government  is 
dependent  on  its  mining  industry  for  revenue,  and  the  mines  must  be 
taxed  in  order  to  obtain  this  revenue.  In  Mexico  taxation,  therefore,  is 
based  on  the  gross  value  of  the  ore  marketed. 

The  object  of  taxation  in  both  cases  is  the  same,  to  obtain  funds 
for  the  expenses  of  the  government;  and  although  in  one  case  profits 
only  are  taxed  and  in  the  other  case  the  gross  production  is  taxed, 
the  same  result  is  obtained. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  in  both  South  Africa  and  Mexico  the 
basis  of  taxation  does  not  take  into  consideration  in  any  way  the  value  of 
the  mining  property,  while  in  the  United  States  this  value  is  often  the 
only  basis  for  estimating  the  amount  of  taxes  to  be  paid. 


34  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

There  are  objections  to  every  one  of  these  three  methods  of  ar- 
riving at  a  basis  of  mine  taxation,  but  if  revenue  must  be  obtained  from 
the  taxation  of  mines,  it  would  seem  desirable  that  the  tax  should  be 
based  on  all  of  them,  that  is,  partly  on  the  ownership  or  value  of  the 
mine,  partly  on  the  gross  value  of  the  product  and  partly  on  the  profits 
made. 

I  believe,  if  the  American  Mining  Congress,  in  endeavoring  to  out- 
line a  basis  for  equitable  taxation  of  mines,  were  to  recommend  a  pro- 
posal of  this  character,  it  would  appeal  to  every  section  of  the  country  as 
a  fair  and  reasonable  basis  of  taxation. 

In  addition  to  taxes  for  revenue,  the  modern  tendency  of  legisla- 
tion is  to  use  the  taxing  power  for  other  purposes.  Vacant  land  in 
cities  is  being  taxed  to  compel  the  owner  to  build.  The  tendency  also  is 
to  protect  our  mineral  resources  so  that  they  shall  be  used  economically 
and  carefully  and  not  allow  special  interests  to  monopolize  them.  If  we 
tax  ore  in  the  ground,  it  forces  the  owner  to  mine  it  as  soon  as  possible, 
yet  there  is  a  general  feeling  abroad  that  unworked  mines  and  unworked 
ore  bodies  should  be  taxed.  I  believe  the  amount  of  taxation  which 
should  be  applied  in  these  cases  of  unworked  mines  and  unworked  ore 
bodies  should  be  based  upon  the  amount  of  rent  the  holder,  if  a  tenant, 
is  willing  to  pay  to  continue  holding  such  mines  or  ore  bodies  with- 
out working  them,  or,  if  a  proprietor,  the  tax  should  be  a  percentage 
of  the  price  he  holds  the  property  at.  (Applause.) 

A  DELEGATE:  I  think  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  from  Mr 
Malcolmson  to  whom  he  pays  taxes  in  Mexico.  (Laughter.) 

MR.  MALCOLMSON:  It  is  rather  an  interesting  subject,  but  out 
of  the  line  of  this  discussion.  I  have  the  honor  of  being  connected  with 
a  mine  there  which  has  a  gross  output  per  month  of  a  hundred  an(J 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  our  net  profits  per  month  for  the  last  four 
years  have  been  forty  thousand  dollars.  We  pay  in  taxes  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  a  month.  We  pay  it  all  at  the  present  time  to  the  State  of 
Sonora.  In  addition  to  that  we  carry  our  own  mail,  pay  our  own  mag- 
istrates and  police,  run  our  own  schools,  repair  our  own  roads,  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  Government  never  spends  a  cent  on  us.  (Laughter.) 

PRESIDENT:  It  is  now  1.2  o'clock,  and  on  our  program  we  still 
have  a  paper  on  "Uniform  Requirements  for  Official  Mine  Reports,"  by 
Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  I  wish  to  preface  my  brief  paper,  which  does  not 
look  so  brief  (laughter),  by  saying  I  am  in  no  way  a  skilled  master 
in  making  reports.  It  might  seem  so,  but  that  is  not  true.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  paper  is  to  call  attention  to  a  few  of  the  many  reports 
that  are  required.  If  a  little  care  and  a  little  co-operation  on  the 
part  of  the  national  government  with  the  state  government  were  had, 
we  could  make  a  uniform  report  which  would  answer  all  purposes. 

Mr.  Taylor's  paper  will  be  found  on  Page  302  of  this  report. 

PRESIDENT:  Our  Secretary  has  a  few  announcements  to  make, 
after  which  we  will  adjourn  to  meet  here  at  eight  o'clock  this  evening. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  want  to  again  call  attention  to 
the  selection  of  the  Resolutions  Committee.  Each  delegation  is  requested 
to  caucus  and  select  the  man  who  is  to  serve  upon  the  Resolutions 
Committee,  each  state  being  allowed  one  member. 

Word  has  been  received  from  the  Commandant  at  the  League  Island 
Navy  Yard,  that  upon  the  visit  this  afternoon  provisions  will  be  made 
for  Delegates  to  inspect  one  or  more  of  the  battleships,  and  those 
who  desire  may  inspect  the  machinery  plant. 

The  trip  to  Valley  Forge  will  be  made  on  Wednesday  afternoon. 
Light  refreshments  will  be  served  at  Valley  Forge.  Ladies  who  desire 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  35 

to  make  the  trip  will  kindly  leave  their  names  at  the  Registration  Desk 
so  that  the  local  committee  will  know  how  many  to  make  arrange- 
ments for. 

The  boat  will  leave  the  wharf  at  the  foot  of  Chestnut  Street 
promptly  at  two  o'clock.  1  am  sure  there  will  be  room  for  the  friends 
of  all  the  Delegates  who  are  present,  and  as  the  boat  has  a  carrying 
capacity  of  fifteen  hundred,  we  would  be  glad  to  have  the  Delegates 
bring  their  friends  with  them. 

12.20  P.  M. — President  declares  meeting  adjourned  until  8.30  this 
evening. 

TUESDAY,  OCTOBER  21,  1913. 
Evening  Session 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  first  paper  on  our  program  tonight  is 
the  report  of  Committee  on  Prevention  of  Mine  Accidents,  by  Dr.  W. 
R.  Ingalls,  of  New  York. 

SECRETARY:  Our  Committee  on  Mine  Accidents  was  provided 
for  several  years  ago  at  the  Denver  Convention,  and  after  a  number 
of  years  of  hard  work  prepared  a  very  comprehensive  report,  which 
was  approved  by  our  Convention.  Later  on,  because  of  the  excellency 
of  its  work,  the  same  Committee  was  made  a  Committee  of  the  Bureau 
of  Mines  at  Washington.  I  have  a  letter  from  Dr.  Ingalls  to  the  effect 
that  he  feels  he  ought  not  present  a  report  to  this  Convention  without 
the  consent  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  under  whom  he 
is  now  acting  in  a  semi-governmental  capacity,  and  Dr.  Holmes  being 
in  California  and  out  of  our  reach,  we  have  been  unable  to  get  that 
consent,  and  the  report  will  have  to  be  dispensed  with. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Before  proceeding  with  the  program  tonight, 
we  have  something  here  to  request.  Mr.  H.  M.  Wilson,  who  tomorrow 
afternoon  was  to  deliver  a  paper  on  "General  Mining  Co-operation," 
has  to  leave  town  tomorrow,  and  asks  to  be  permitted  to  deliver  that 
dress  now  instead  of  to-morrow. 

MR.  WILSON:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 
As  some  of  you  will  recall,  two  years  ago,  in  1911,  in  October,  there 
was  held  in  Pittsburgh,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines, 
what  was  called  a  National  Mine  Safety  Demonstration,  and  at  that 
time  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  undertook  to  hold  a  similar  demonstra- 
tion tri-annually.  Before  leaving  for  Alaska  last  summer,  he  instructed 
us  at  Pittsburgh  that  he  wished  us  to  proceed  to  plan  for  a  second 
National  Mine  Safety  Demonstration  in  1914.  When  this  matter  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  American  Mine  Safety  Association  at 
Pittsburgh  at  their  annual  meeting  last  month,  that  association 
instructed  me  to  appear  before  you  and  other  mining  associations 
with  a  proposition  that  we  attempt  to  get  together  in  1914  in  a  great 
National  Mining  Convention.  The  suggestion  of  the  American  Min- 
ing Safety  Association  is  that  once  in  a  period  of  years — say,  perhaps, 
three  years — it  may  be  worth  while  for  all  of  those  organizations  in- 
terested in  the  safety  and  in  the  development  of  the  mining  industry 
to  meet  together  in  one  place,  thereby  attracting  far  greater  attention 
to  the  mining  industry,  to  what  mine  officials  are  doing  for  safety  in 
that  industry,  and  to  what  they  or  their  workers  are  doing  for  greater 
efficiency  in  the  industry,  than  if  tlhere  were  held  annually  a  number  of 
scattered  meetings. 

So  the  proposition  which  I  bri^g  to  you  from  our  Association  is 
that  at  such  place  and  such  time  as  may  be  mutually  agreed  upon  by 
representatives  of  the  American  Mine  Safety  Association,  the  American 
Mining  Congress,  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  the 
Mining  and  Metalurgical  Society  and  kindred  other  organizations,  there 


36  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

be  held  a  year  hence  a  joint  Convention,  at  which  each  of  those  organ- 
izations can  have  its  own  sessions  for  the  deliberations  of  its  own  pro- 
ceedings, and  yet  there  will  be  brought  together  at  one  time  and  place, 
such  a  body  of  men  interested  in  mining  in  all  its  phases,  mine  operat- 
ors, safety  men,  engineers  and  metallurgists,  that  it  will  be  possible  to 
hold  a  Mining  Show,  which  will  be  worthy  of  the  name,  and  which 
will  bring  together  all  of  the  largest  manufacturers,  producers  and  oth- 
ers concerned  in  tihe  mining  industry,  the  manufacturers  of  mining 
machinery  and  appliances,  and  in  conjunction  therewith,  a  National 
Mine  Safety  demonstration  may  be  held  in  such  a  way  as  to  brin»g  the 
industry  before  a  sufficiently  large  audience  to  make  the  occasion 
worthy.  As  you  will  recall,  two  years  ago,  when  there  was  such  a 
demonstration  held  in  Pittsburgh,  President  Taft  was  present.  There 
were,  as  an  audience  fully  twenty  thousand  persons,  and  I  believe  there 
is  reason  to  hope  that  if  the  affair  is  handled  properly  and  properly 
placed  before  the  public,  it  might  be  possible  to  secure  the  attendance 
of  President  Wilson,  assuming  that  the  time  and  place  can  be  fixed  to 
suit  his  convenience. 

I  hope  the  Congress  will  have  an  opportunity  to  consider  this  mat- 
ter and  to  join  with  the  American  Mine  Safety  Association  in  this 
proposition.  I  believe,  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  will  be 
ready  to  co-operate  with  you  in  holding  his  National  Mine  Safety 
demonstration  next  yean  I  have  reason  to  believe  from  talking  with 
officers  of  the  Coal  Mining  Institute  of  America  that  they  are  friendly 
to  the  proposition. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers  in 
New  York  on  Saturday  last,  I  saw  the  Secretary  and  the  President, 
who  said  this  was  a  matter  to  be  considered  by  their  executive 
committee,  and  that  it  would  be  given  consideration.  I  thank  you. 
(Applause.) 

PRESIDENT:  We  will  next  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  a 
paper  on  "Mine  Rescue  and  Recovery  Work,"  by  Dr.  Charles  E.  Munroe, 
of  Washington,  D.  C. 

SECRETARY:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  understand  that  Dr.  Munroe  was 
to  discuss  explosives.  He  called  me  up  yesterday  and  stated  he  would 
be  unable  to  attend  the  Convention  before  Friday  evening;  he  cannot 
be  here  tonight,  but  has  forwarded  his  paper. 

Dr.  Munroe's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  288  of  this  report. 

PRESIDENT:  The  next  address  is  on  the  "Use  and  Abuse  of  Ex- 
plosives," by  Mr.  Robert  W.  Gunnell,  of  Pottsville,  Pa. 

Mr.  Gunnell's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  298  of  this  report. 

We  will  now  hear  from  Mr.  J.  W.  Paul,  on  "Mine  Rescue  and 
Recovery  Work." 

MR.  J.  W.  PAUL,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.:  Mr.  President  and  Chair- 
men: The  program  as  printed  has  announced  my  subject  as  'Mine 
Rescue  and  Recovery  Work,'  whereas  I  understood  from  the  Secre- 
tary originally,  that  my  slbject  would  be  Mine  Rescue  and  First  Aid 
Operations,  so  I  have  prepared  my  paper  in  accordance  with  the  title 
I  have  last  announced. 

See  Mr.  Paul's  paper  on  page  281  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  certainly  want  to  thank  Mr.  Paul  for  his 
able  and  most  interesting  paper.  We  will  ask  Mr.  George  S.  Rice  to 
lead  the  discussion,  and  as  we  have  two  more  attractions  we  will  have 
to  ask  the  discussion  to  be  restricted  to  five  minute  periods. 

MR.  GEORGE  S.  RICE,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa:  I  think,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  Paul  covered  the  ground  very  well  indeed.  He  has  spoken 
about  the  field  maneuvers  which  have  recently  been  conducted  by  the 
Bureau  of  Mines.  The  importance  of  having  such  maneuvers  first 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  37 

suggested  by  Director  Holmes  has  become  apparent  to  those  connected 
with  this  work,  because  it  has  sometimes  been  found,  that  while  mine 
operators  who  have  pufcjhased  breathing  apparatus,  have  organized 
crews  at  the  beginning,  these  crews  too  often  have  not  kept  up  their 
practice  and  also  the  apparatus  in  some  cases  has  been  so  neiglected, 
that  it  was  not  in  safe  condition  to  use  when  an  emergency  arose.  These 
and  similar  maneuvers  will  bring  home  to  mine  operators  and  mine 
officials  who  have  had  their  crews  take  part  in  them,  the  absolute 
necessity  of  having  the  apparatus  in  good  condition  and  in  having 
men  in  regular  training.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  this  work  will  some 
time  arrive  at  that  sta^ge  reached  in  European  countries  where  the  laws 
require  that  a  certain  proportion  of  each  shift  of  m^en  employed  in  the 
mine  shall  be  trained  in  the  use  of  breathing  apparatus,  as  well  as  in 
methods  of  resuscitation  and  "first  aid  to  the  injured"  so  that  a  trained 
crew  may  always  be  ready  at  any  time  to  take  the  lead  in  any  rescue 
or  tire  fighting  work  they  may  be  called  upon  to  perform  in  the  mine. 
Sometimes  in  cases  of  great  coal  mine  disasters  almost  an  entire  shift 
together  with  the  mine  officials  has  been  swept  away,  including  the 
trained  crews  and  then  it  has  been  necessary  to  call  for  volunteers 
from  a  distance  who  may  or  may  not  be  well  trlained  to  undertake  the 
rescue  work;  therefore  at  every  mine  there  should  be  leaders  acquaint- 
ed with  flhe  mine  workings  and  full-trained  crews  to  be  prepared  at 
any  time  in  the  24  hours  to  respond  to  a  call.  Tests  of  training  and 
leadership  should  at  intervals  be  carried  out  in  dealing  with  imaginary 
disaster  or  fires  under  various  conditions  and  locations. 

As  the  expense  of  installing  apparatus  and  training  crews  is  con- 
siderable, the  question  may  be  asked  what  advantage  is  there,  aside 
from  the  opportunity  of  saving  of  life,  in  taking  up  the  use  of  breath- 
ing apparatus?  In  other  words,  what  is  the  advantage  in  dollars  and 
cents  in  the  installment  of  this  work?  Are  the  operators  compensated 
for  it?  The  answer  is  decidedly  yes,  in  the  one  feature  of  prepared- 
ness in  fighting  fires,  and  this  concerns  not  only?  coal  mines,  but  also 
metal  mines.  Many  of  those  mine  operators  who  have  installed  ap- 
paratus have  reported  that  it  has  saved  them  thousands  of  dollars 
through  the  ability  to  reach  an  underground  fire  promptly  in  spite  of 
fumes  and  extinguish  it  by  direct  means.  We  all  know  the  time  to 
attack  any  mine  fire,  as  well  as  surface  fire,  is  in  the  first  few  m/inutes 
after  it  starts.  Then  it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  put  it  out,  but  if 
hours  elapse,  it  may  become  a  most  serious  matter,  threatening  life  as 
well  as  property.  Undoubtedly  the  breat'hSng  apparatus,  if  kept  in 
good  conditiin,  is  a  valuable  aid  in  various  emergencies  when  it  is 
necessary  to  enter  poisonous  gases. 

The  matter  of  training  miners  in  "first  aid  to  the  injured"  hardly 
needs  extended  argument,  the  majority  of  the  accidents  occur  far  in  the 
interior  of  the  mine,  so  that  with  the  quickest  handling  it  is  a  matter 
of  hours  befone  t(he  injured  can  be  placed  under  the  charge  of  a 
physician.  The  ability  of  fellow  workmen  in  the  vicinity  to  bandage  and 
otherwise  give  first  aid  assistance  vastly  lessens  suffering  and  some- 
times saves  permanent  injury  or  death  from  loss  of  blood  from  poison- 
ing of  the  'Wound. 

In  view  of  the  brief  time,  this  is  all  I  have  to  say  on  this  impor- 
tant matter. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  would  also  like  to  hear  from  Mr.  H.  M. 
Wilson. 

MR.  H.  M.  WILSON,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.:  Mr.  Chairman  I  did  not 
know  I  was  expected  to  speak  on  this  subject  until  I  saw  my  name  on 
the  program.  I  am  going,  therefore,  to  take  about  three  minutes  to 
tell  you  something  of  another  experience  of  which  my  presence  in  this 


38  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

hall  to-day  reminds  me.  I  think  it  was  nearly  a  week  ago  that  the 
National  Fire  Prevention  met  here  and  were  discussing  the  enforce- 
ment of  rules  and  regulations,  whereby  city  officials  charged  with  cer- 
tain duties  for  carrying  out  certain  laws  for  the  protection  of  buildings 
from  fire,  might  be  brought  to  a  full  realization  of  their  duty,  and  in 
speaking  on  that  subject  the  present  Secretary  of  Commerce,  Mr.  Red- 
field,  made  the  statement,  and  laid  stress  on  it,  in  a  magnificient  ad- 
dress, to  the  effect  that,  penalize  as  we  may  for  non-compliance,  here 
is  only  one  way  in  whioh  we  can  make  effective  any  rule  or  regulation 
among  the  American  people,  aid  that  is  not  by  force,  but  by  educa- 
tion and  by  securing  their  co-operation.  Secretariy  Redfield  gave  as  an 
example  an  experience  of  his  own  as  Director  of  Public  Works  in 
Brooklyn,  and  showed  that,  regardless  of  his  own  good  intent  to  se- 
cure compliance  with  the  law,  that  until  he  had  .gone  out  and  educated 
the  people  of  Brooklyn  concerning  the  subject,  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  enforce  the  rules. 

Now,  that  certainly  applies  aptly  to  the  experience  of  the  mining 
industry,  and  it  has  bearing  on  this  subject  of  Mine  Rescue  and 
Safety  of  Mines.  Five  years  ago  it  was  as  well  known  as  it  is  today 
that  we  were  losing  the  lives  of  men  in  mines,  sacrificing  them 
through  bad  practices,  and  sacrificing  others  who  were  engaged  in 
their  attempted  recovery  after  a  disaster  or  mine  fire.  We  knew  that 
each  year  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  there  had  been  increases  in  the 
annual  loss  of  life.  Mine  operators  understood  the  situation,  so  did 
the  mine  workers,  so  did  the  public,  but  it  was  accepted  as  one  of  those 
unavoidable  acts  of  God.  They  would  do  the  best  they  could  or  knew 
how,  but  we  were  going  to  lose  lives  in  mining  operations,  and  we 
were  going  to  continue  to  lose  more  and  more  as  we  had  more 
workmen  on  the  job. 

Mr.  Redfield  stated  that  his  method  of  attacking  the  difficulty  he 
was  discussing  was  not  through  his  Department,  by  circularizing  the 
country  and  issuing  pamphlets,  but  he  was  going  to  send  speakers  all 
over  the  country  to  prer-ent  face  to  face  the  propaganda  he  had  in  mind. 

All  of  you  here  know  that  the  Mining  industry  has  been  fortunate 
through  the  creation  of  a  Federal  Bureau  to  look  after  its  interests, 
in  having  the  opportunity  to  have  set  before  it  proselytes,  whose  duty 
it  would  be  to  bring  right  home  to  the  operator  and  the  miner,  those 
things  which  tihey  know  and  had  heard;  but  stated  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  realized  the  exact  bearing  upon  themselves.  The  mining  in- 
dustry is  one  of  the  few — probably  the  only  industry  in  this  country — 
which  has  had  the  benefit  of  an  organization  maintained  by  the  Federal 
Government,  the1  duty  of  which  was  to  go  out  and  proselyte  face  to 
face,  and  to  explain  face  to  face  things  which  should  be  done  in  con- 
nection with  mine  rescue  and  mine  recovery.  The  medium  for  this 
work  has  been  tflie  eight  rescue  cars  and  the  six  rescue  stations  of  the 
Blureau  to  which  Mr.  Paul  has  just  referred  as  operating  in  every  min- 
ing district  in  this  country.  These  have  been  by  far  of  .greater  value 
than  all  the  publications  issued  by  the  Bureau  to  this  country.  Regard- 
ing the  use  of  permissible  explosive  coal  dust,  gas,  etc.  Through  that 
face  to  face  discussion  with  miners  and  with  operators,  there  has 
come  about  a  condition  which  is  not  paralleled  in  the  annals  of  other 
dangerous  occupations,  whereby  after  a  period  of  a  rising  death  rate  in 
the  mines,  we  reached  in  1907  a  maximum  death  rate  of  about  thrty- 
two  hundred,  a  ratio  of  nearly  seven  persons  for  evefly  million  tons 
of  coal  mined.  That  enormous  death  rate  has  been  continually  on  the 
decline  now  for  five  years.  In  191*2,  though  a  vastly  larger  amount  of 
coal  was  mined,  though  a  great  many  more  men  were  engaged  in  the 
industry,  nearly  one  thousand  less  men  were  sacrificed.  The  rate  per 
million  tons  has  been  reduced  from  seven  to  a  little  over  four. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  39 

Now  in  stating  this  to  you  in  this  way,  I  am  not  making  any 
claims  for  the  Bureau  of  Mines  as  beir^g  solely  or  primarily  for  this 
splendid  showing.  It  has  accomplished  nothing  and  could  have  accom- 
plished nothing  through  its  own  endeavors  or  those  of  its  employees 
alone  without  the  magnificent  co-operation,  support  and  sympathy  it 
has  had  from  every  one  engaged  in  the  mining  industry,  mine  oper- 
ators, state  inspectors  and  miners  alike.  Its  success  in  aiding  the  min- 
ing industry  to  reduce  its  death  rate  has  been  due  largely  to  its  op- 
portunities to  keep  before  the  public  all  the  time  these  facts  with 
which  the  public  was  thoroughly  well  acquainted. 

These  remarks,  Mr.  President,  are  intended  to  show  that  in  Mine 
Rescue  and  First  Aid  Operations,  as  in  any  other  safety  work, 
scientific  methods  and  well  considered  mine  laws  and  regulations  are 
not  the  only  requisite  to  effective  work.  These  must,  as  pointed  out 
by  Secretary  Redfield,  be  supported  by  strong  and  favorable  public 
sentiment,  which  can,  as  a  rule,  only  be  developed  by  educational  work 
fostered  by  personal  contact  as  well  as  by  published  pamphlets.  I 
thank  you. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  am  sorry  we  will  have  to  shut  off  this 
discussion,  but  we  will  have  to  pass  on  to  the  next  paper  on  the  "Use 
of  Concrete  in  Mining  Operation,"  by  E.  C.  Sargent,  of  Chicago. 

MR.  SARGENT:  I  will  hurry  through  this  subject  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  one  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  mining  industry,  and 
which  might  be  discussed  at  great  length  from  the  point  of  safety 
alone.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  you  working  details — this  is  the 
problem  of  the  engineer  and  the  architect;  but  simply  to  invite  your 
consideration  to  the  wide  and  varied  types  of  this  construction,  simply 
to  arouse  your  interest  to  the  possibilities  of  this  material. 

M'r.  Sargent's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  249  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  am  sure  we  all  thank  Mr.  Sargent  most 
heartily  for  his  most  able  and  rapidly  read  paper.  In  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  we  have  gained  a  lot  of  "Concrete"  information. 
(Laughter.)  In  connection  with  that  I  want  to  mention  one  thing 
that  appears  remarkable  to  me.  In  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct,  where 
they  used  considerable  concrete,  they  found  that_the  application  of 
fifty  per  cent,  of  crushed  inert  rock  did  not  injure  it — it  improved  it. 

We  will  now  call  on  Dr.  W.  R.  Crane,  of  State  College,  Pa.,  for 
his  illustrated  lecture  on  "The  Coal  Resources  of  Alaska."  I  take 
pleasure  in  introducing  Dr.  Crane. 

DR.  CRANE:  Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Congress:  The 
printed  paper  will  be  in  your  hands,  I  presume,  tomorrow.  I  was  in 
hopes  it  would  be  ready  by  this  time.  This  paper  is  not  exhaustive,  and 
is  not  intended  to  be  so,  but  it  is  intended  to  cover  the  ground  so  that 
a  person  can  get  a  general  idea  of  the  lay  of  the  coal  lands  of  Alaska, 
and  some  of  the  other  problems  connected  with  the  coal  industry  of 
that  country. 

I  am  not  going  to  give  a  long  talk  tonight,  but  rather  will  give 
a  few  pictures  and  show  you  something  regarding  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  channels  of  the  coal  which  I  think  will  be  more  enter- 
taining and  enlightening  possibly  than  the  reading  of  the  paper. 

Dr.  Crane's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  192  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  have  certainly  been  favored  with  a  great 
number  of  most  scholarly  and  instructive  addresses  tonight,  and  I 
think  we  all  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  men  who  have  taken  part 
in  tonight's  proceedings.  If  there  is  no  other  business  to  come  before 
us,  I  declare  the  meeting  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  tomorrow  morning. 


40 


OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 


WEDNESDAY,   OCTOBER  22,   1913 
Morning  Session 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  meeting  will  please  come  to  order.  The 
Secretary  will  read  the  names  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

THE  SECRETARY:  The  Committee  on  Resolutions  as  thus  far 
made  up  is  as  follows: 


The  Committee  on  Resolutions 


ALASKA 

ALABAMA 

ARIZONA 

CALIFORNIA 

COLORADO 

GEORGIA 

IDAHO 

ILLINOIS 

INDIANA 

IOWA 

KENTUCKY 

MARYLAND 

MICHIGAN 

MINNESOTA 

MISSOURI 

NEVADA 

NEW  MEXICO 

NEW  YORK 

OHIO 

OREGON 

TENNESSEE 

TEXAS 

VIRGINIA 

WASHINGTON 

WEST  VIRGINIA 

WYOMING 


William  Maloney 

L.  B.  Musgrove 

James  P.  Gaskill 

Charles  Butler 

George  E.  McClelland 

W.  H.  Fluker 

A.  M.  Strode 

Chas.  M.  Moderwell 

J.   R.   Sharp 

P.  P.  Reece 

C.  J.  Norwood 

N.  W.  Roberts 

Benj.  W.  Vallat 

Chas.   E.  Van   Barneveld 

Jas.  W.  Malcolmson 

Walter  C.  Lamb 

John  A.  Cutler 

John  R.  Burton 

Ghas.  E.  Maurer 

H..  N.  Lawrie 

John  E.  Patton 

Isadore  Broman 

C.  W.  Bondurant 

Sidney  Norman 

Neil  Robinson 

P.  J.   Quealy 


Nome 

Jasper 

Ajo 

San  Francisco 

Idaho  Springs 

Thomson 

Mullan 

Chicago 

Hymera 

Dallas 

Lexi.ngton 

Baltimore 

Ironwood 

St.   Paul 

Kansas  City 

Tonopah 

Raton 

New  York  City 

Cleveland 

Portland 

Chattanooga 

Austin 

St.   Charles 

Spokane 

Charleston 

Kemmerer 


It  is  requested  that  the  Resolutions  Committee  shall  convene  im- 
mediately after  the  morning  session  in  the  room  at  the  rear  of  this 
hall  for  the  purpose  of  organization.  The  introduction  of  resolutions 
will  be  in  order  at  the  opening  of  any  session. 

I  want  to  state  that  the  names  of  the  ladies  who  are  with  the 
Delegates  who  desire  to  go  on  the  auto-mobile  trip  to  Valley  Forge  this 
afternoon,  whose  names  are  not  filed  at  the  Registration  desk,  should 
be  filed  at  once.  Provision  will  be  made  for  the  automobiles  to  leave 
here  at  one  o'clock  and  to  return  at  six.  Light  lunch  will  be  served 
at  Valley  Forge. 

I  want  to  call  particular  attention  to  the  Mining  Show  and  hope 
that  those  who  are  present  will  become  acquainted  with  the  men  who 
have  made  it  possible  for  us  to  have  this  show  by  buying  space  and 
patronizing  it.  We  feel  the  men  who  have  helped  us  there  are  entitled 
to  the  best  support  that  the  Mining  Congress  can  give  to  them.  The 
program  gives  you  a  full  announcement  of  the  various  exhibitions  which 
are  made  in  the  demonstration  of  mining  safety  work.  A  coal  mine 
has  been  installed  at  a  very  great  expense.  The  gold  mine  will  be 
found  of  interest  and  the  moving  pictures  always  of  interest  These 
things  justify  a  very  liberal  attendance  at  the  show. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  41 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  first  address  this  morning  will  be  on 
"Mine  Accounting,"  by  Mr.  J.  B.  L.  Hornberger,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Mr.  Hornberger's  address  will  be  found  at  page  363  of  this  report. 

MR.  HORNBERGER:  I  have  submitted  in  this  leaflet  a  form  of  a 
typical  cost  sheet  which  we  use  in  the  Pittsburgh  district.  If  there 
is  any  further  light  that  I  can  throw  upon  this  subject  I  will  be 
pleased  ,to  answer  your  questions.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  paper  is  now  open  for  discussion,  and 
we  would  be  pleased  to  hear  from  any  gentleman  who  has  anything: 
to  say  on  this  subject. 

MR.  C.  O.  BARTLETT:  Mr.  President,  may  I  ask  Mr.  Horn- 
berger one  question?  I  would  like  to  know  what  the  present  costs  are 
as  compared  with  other  years. 

MR.  HORNBERGER:  The  costs  are  on  the  increase  very  de- 
cidedly. The  cost  of  everything  that  enters  into  mining  in  the  Pitts- 
burgh district  is  going  up — feed,  lumber  and  all  supplies  are  higher  this 
year  than  they  were  last  year,  higher  last  year  than  they  were  the 
year  before,  and  so  on  back.  The  cost  of  labor,  of  course,  is  mounting 
up.  Our  costs  have  been  for  some  years,  and  are,  increasing. 

MR.  GEORGE  S.  RICE,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.:  May  I  ask  a  question? 
I  was  very  much  interested  in  Mr.  Hornberger's  statement  as  to  the 
method  of  charging  against  the  capital  account,  the  development  up> 
to  the  time  when  a  mine  was  ready  to  produce  a  daily  tonnage  re- 
gardless of  what  it  does  actually  produce  at  that  time.  I  guess  most 
engineers  have  had  to  do  with  development  and  have  been  in  quite  a 
quandary  to  know  about  that  charge.  Several  times  I  have  been  put 
in  a  predicament  by  the  fact  that  in  Pittsburgh  or  in  the  West  where 
the  geological  conditions  and  formations  made  it  difficult  to  bring  the 
mines  up  to  the  tonnage  that  was  desired  in  the  beginning,  the  mine 
still  so  operates  at  a  loss  for  a  considerable  period.  I  was  very  much 
interested  to  know  from  Mr.  Hornberger  just  when  they  changed  from 
capital  account  to  operating  account. 

MR.  HORNBERGER:  Well,  I  hardly  know  how  to  answer  that 
except  by  repeating  what  I  have  said,  but  I  might  add  that  in  districts 
in  which  conditions  are  uncertain,  and  where  the  projected  capacity 
cannot  be  definitely  approximated  or  realized  within  the  time  of  the 
construction  of  the  plant,  prudence  would  suggest  that  in  such  a  place 
the  installation  should  be  made  to  fit  those  conditions. 

Speaking  for  coal  mines,  if  you  open  a  mine  intended  to  produce 
five  thousand  tons  per  day,  it  would  not  be  wise  to  put  in  all  of  your 
equipment,  and  everything  necessary  for  that  production,  if  you  are 
going  to  stop  short  of  five  thousand  tons  per  day  of  capacity  in  any 
phase  of  development  at  construction,  and  only  be  able  to  produce,  say,. 
twenty-five  hundred  tons  a  day.  In  such  a  case  your  construction  ac- 
count would  be  closed  when  you  reach  your  twenty-five  hundred  tons 
per  day  and  reopened  as  I  indicated  in  my  paper  when  you  are  going; 
to  increase  the  capacity.  If  you  will  keep  in  mind  that  word  "ca- 
pacity" in  what  I  said  before,  that  is  the  point  on  which  my  argument 
turns;  that  what  you  capitalize  is  the  CAPACITY  of  the  mine,  and 
when  you  reach  that  capacity,  regardless  of  what  the  mine  is  producing,, 
the  construction  account  should  be  closed,  and  the  operating  account 
should  take  up  and  absorb  all  charges.  I  know  that  this  question 
between  the  construction  account  and  the  operating  account  is  a  very 
difficult  one;  it  worries  a  good  many  construction  men,  and  operating1 
men,  some  sharp,  arbitrary  line  has  to  be  drawn  of  necessity.  The 
proposed  plan  is  that  when  the  construction  of  the  mine  has  reached 
a  point  where  it  is  able  to  produce  approximately  the  output  for  which 
it  is  intended,  then  the  construction  account  is  to  be  closed,  and  kept 


42  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

closed  until,  by  the  installation  of  new  plants  or  new  units,  you  get  to 
the  point  where  you  see  the  mine  has  been  increased  in  capacity.  You 
have  a  certain  amount  of  electrical  energy  which  produces  twenty-five, 
hundred  tons  a  day,  and  you  propose  by  installing  some  more  power  to 
increase  your  capacity  to  thirty-five  hundred  tons  per  day.  The  ex- 
penditure for  this  additional  equipment  is  certainly  a  proper  charge 
to  capital  account,  but,(.. -otherwise,  all  the  expenditure  should  be 
charged  to  operating  account. 

I  do  not  know  if  I  have  made  myself  clear;  it  is  rather  a  compli- 
cated, troublesome  question. 

MR.  CHARLES  M.  MODERWELL,  Chicago.  Mr.  Chairman,  I 
would  like  to  ask  a  personal  question  as  to  how  he  arrived  at  a  six 
per  cent,  basis.  Is  it  based  on  experience,  does  it  have  relation  to  the 
supposed  life  of  the  plant  or  equipment,  or  was  it  largely  arbitrary? 

MR.  HORNBERGER:  It  is  largely  arbitrary,  though  based  more 
or  less  on  experience.  I  think  that  five  per  cent,  in  our  case  would 
be  sufficient  for  the  reason  that  all  that  needs  to  be  done  is  to  return 
the  original  cost.  It  does  not  have  to  make  replacements  and  renewals. 
These  are  made  a  charge  to  operations.  If,  as  I  stated  in  the  paper 
you  want  to  include  renewals  and  replacements  in  your  charges  to  the 
fund,  then  your  fund  must  grow  much  more  rapidly;  then  ten  per 
cent,  would  probably  not  be  an  outside  amount. 

MR.  JENNINGS:  I  would  like  to  ask  a  question  on  the  subject 
of  this  depreciation.  It  seems  to  be  immensely  complicated  by  some 
of  our  taxes.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  hard  matter  to  find  out 
what  the  real  earnings  of  a  mining  corporation  are.  For  instance,  if 
your  mine  has  only  a  life  of  five  years,  and  you  are  making  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year,  is  it  right  to  pay  income  tax  on  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year,  or  is  it  right  to  depreciate  your 
property  and  your  lands  in  accordance  with  the  life  of  it  at 'the  time^yoti 
expect  to  work  the  property? 

I  fully  agree  with  you  that  the  depreciation  in  mining  is  one  of 
the  most  difficult  things  to  properly  adjust  in  ordinary  circumstances, 
and  it  seems  to  me  it  has  been  immensely  complicated  by  the  new 
income  tax  law.  What  is  the  ordinary  method  in  coal  mining,  for 
instance,  of  estimating  the  depreciation,  in  order  to  pay  the  right  in- 
come tax  on  a  mine  that  has  short  life? 

MR.  HORNBERGER:  I  do  not  think  that  the  income  tax  law 
really  complicates  this  question  very  much.  The  Government  is  going 
to  get  that  tax,  and  it  is  a  question  whether  it  is  going  to  get  it  this 
year  or  later.  It  accepts  your  book  values,  to  start  with.  It  allows  you 
to  deduct  from  your  earnings  that  which  you  say  is  necessary  to  replace 
your  investment;  it  does  not  tax  that.  I  understand  that  certain  cor- 
porations whose  lands  were  carried  on  their  books  at  low  cost  values 
were  allowed  to  revalue  their  lands  after  a  proper  showing  that  the 
lands  were  really  worth  more,  so  that  their  royalty  or  depletion  charge 
would  be  increased.  The  companies  who  did  that  are  saving  in  taxes. 

I  do  not  know  where  the  Government  would  draw  the  line,  but  I 
assume  it  would  be  drawn  at  a  revaluation  in  excess  of  a  fair  com- 
mercial value  for  the  property;  that,  up  to  that  point,  companies  that 
are  charging  off  five  cents  depreciation,  or  three  cents  depreciation,  or 
two  cents  depreciation,  where  they  oueht  to  be  charging  off  ten  cents 
depreciation,  are  simply  giving  something  to  the  Government  that  they 

nJ?*J?eed  to  pay;  the  Government,  in  the  last  analysis,  does  not 
tax  CAPITAL,  it  taxes  EARNINGS,  and  so  earnings  should  be  con- 
strued with  a  proper  regard  for  the  amount  which  should  be  reserved 
to  restore  capital. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  43 

MR.  CHARLES  E.  MAURER:  I  want  to  ask  Mr.  Hornberger 
this  question.  Doesn't  it  depend,  to  a  greater  extent,  on  the  life  of 
your  plant?  If  you  had  a  plant  that  would  last  ten  years,  should  not 
the  hole  in  the  ground  be  depreciated  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent,  a  year? 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  am  sorry  we  have  to  terminate  this  inter- 
esting discussion,  but  we  have  a  good  deal  more  this  morning.  The 
next  thing  is  the  report  from  the  Committee  on  Alaskan  Affairs,  by 
Mr.  Falcon  Joslin,  of  Fairbanks,  Alaska. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  A  wire  from  Mr.  Joslin,  from 
Fairbanks,  Alaska,  about  ten  days  ago,  states  that  he  had  mailed  his 
report.  (Mr.  Joslin's  address  will  be  found  at  page  206  of  this  report.) 
It  has  not  yet  reached  us  and  consequently  we  cannot  present  it  at  this 
time. 

With  your  permission,  Mr.  President,  as  a  member  of  that  Co>m- 
mittee,  I  would  like  to  incorporate  the  report  as  a  part  of  the  proceed- 
ings and  to  present  one  or  two  very  terse  statements  concerning  Alaska 
with  the  hope  that  the  assistance  of  the  delegates  may  be  secured  in 
Alaska's  behalf. 

Most  of  you  have  heard  of  the  great  Alaskan  question.  Pioneers 
who  have  gone  into  that  country  and  suffered  privations  and  hardships 
with  a  view  of  developing  her  resources  are  today  digging  the  roots 
out  of  the  ground  for  fuel  with  great  mountains  of  coal  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, the  use  of  which  is  absolutely  prohibited  by  the  Government. 
Instead  of  conservation,  we  have  reservation.  All  coal  lands  have  been 
withdrawn  from  entry  by  Presidential  order,  and  those  who  had  claims 
before  the  withdrawal  order  have  been  refused  patents.  Every  possible 
technical  objection  has  been  made  to  invalidate  the  claims  of  the  pio- 
neers, and  today  the  w*hole  of  Alaska  is  bottled  up,  waiting  for  t'he  time 
when  Congress  will  pass  new  laws  which  will  permit  that  country  to  be 
developed. 

MR.  DAVID  ROSS,  Springfield,  1.11.:  Just  a  word  with  regard  to 
the  report  submitted  by  Secretary  Callbreath.  It  is  quite  within  the 
province,  at  least,  of  the  imagination  to  believe  that  the  Government, 
if  given  time  enough,  will  not  only  discover,  but  acknowledge  the  mistake 
of  its  policy  or  want  of  policy  in  regard  to  the  Alaska  mining  situation. 
While  our  form  of  government  survives,  strengthened,  as  many  be- 
lieve, by  the  initiative,  referendum  and  recall,  there  is  still  hope  for  the 
Alaskans,  but  hope  repeatedly  deferred,  as  Solomon  observed,  maketh 
the  heart  sick,  and  the  present  condition  of  our  Alaskan  friends  testi- 
fies most  tragically  to  its  poverty  producing  effects  when  taken  as  a 
regular  diet,  and  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  suggest  that  the 
supersensitive  type  of  parlor  socialism  that  has  succeeded  only  in  de- 
ceiving itself  into  believing  that  there  is  more  virtue  and  utility  in 
making  provision  for  the  imaginary  needs  of  the  future  than  in  taking 
care  of  the  actual  wants  of  the  present,  has  not  entirely  emancipated 
itself  from  the  sphere  of  educative  influences  or  is  wholly  exempt  from 
Time's  impressive  teachings.  Life  would  not  be  the  interesting  thing  it 
is  were  it  not  for  the  reasons  it  constantly  supplies  either  in  confirming 
our  prejudices  or  in  provoking  or  justifying  a  change  in  our  beliefs, 
and  my  faith  in  this  philosophy  has  found  much  comfort  in  a  report 
just  issued  from  the  Federal  Department  of  Agriculture  to  the  effect 
that  contrary  to  all  previous  notions  the  crow  is  the  farmer's  best  friend. 
(Laughter.)  It  should  be  understood  that  this  discovery  was  not  made 
by  the  farmers,  who,  up  to  this  time,  were  supposed  to  be  the  victims 
of  this  omnivorous  bird,  but  by  a  specially  trained  corps  of  experts, 
similar,  I  assume,  in  type  and  temperament  to  that  other  class  who 
have  mistaken  Alaska  for  a  laboratory  in  which  to  prosecute  their  ex- 
periments. (Laughter.) 


44  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

The  authors  of  this  report  in  substance  declare  that  while  the 
crow's  fondness  for  young  birds  and  bird-eggs  robs  him  of  the  glory 
of  posing  as  a  Simon  pure  conservationist  (laughter),  his  capacity  for 
consuming  grasshoppers,  white  grubs,  cut  worms  and  other  injurious 
insects  more  than  off-sets  his  destructive  tendencies  in  other  directions. 
(Laughter.)  It's  a  trifling  admission  on  an  insignificant  subject,  but 
may  mean  much;  the  straw  indicates  the  tornado's  course,  and  the  poet 
tells  us  that  a  pebble  in  the  brooklet  cast  has  changed  the  course  of 
many  a  river.  May  we  not  hope  that  this  discovery  may  pave  the  way 
for  the  creation  of  a  sentiment  in  the  United  States  that  will  insist  that 
the  Alaskan  be  allowed  at  least  the  crow's  license  for  life  (laughter), 
excusing  it,  if  necessary,  on  the  grounds  that  if  the  drainage  from  his 
diggings  muddies  the  waters  of  the  Bay,  or  the  mine  drifts  or  other 
openings  in  the  Earth  interfere  here  and  there  with  the  natural  beauty 
of  the  landscape,  it  would  be  more  than  atoned  for  in  the  added  op- 
portunities for  honest  toil  and  legitimate  investments.  I  regret  that 
I  cannot  speak  of  Alaska  like  those  who  are  personally  familiar  with  it, 
as  it  has  never  been  my  fortune  to  see  any  part  of  it  even  with  the 
aid  of  a  telescope  or  an  excursion  boat,  but  I  would  rather  accept 
the  plan  of  the  people  who  live  and  work  there,  or  who  would  if  given 
a  chance,  who  are  familiar  by  actual  contact  with  the  real  situation, 
many  of  them  having  lost  their  savings  and  risked  their  lives  in  pur- 
suit of  its  possibilities,  and  who  have  the  patience  and  energy,  if  per- 
mitted, to  develop  its  wonderful  sources  of  wealth — I  would,  I  repeat, 
rather  approve  the  theories  of  those  people  as  to  the  means  of  develop- 
ing that  great  Empire,  than  become  the  foolish  victim  of  an  expert's 
dream.  (Applause.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  next  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
from  Mr.  D.  D.  Rushmore,  of  Schenectady,  on  "The  Industrial  Cor- 
poration and  Scientific  Research." 

MR.  RUSHMORE:  Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress:  At  the  invitation  of  the  President  and  Secretary 
of  the  American  Mining  Congress,  I  hastily  outlined  on  the  impor- 
tant subject  of  the  fields  of  activity  of  the  large  industrial  corporations 
a  little  paper  which  has  been  headed,  "The  Industrial  Corporation  and 
Scientific  Research,"  which  possibly  is  one  of  the  least  known  of  its 
fields  of  activity. 

Mr.  Rushmore's  paper  will  be  found  on  page  265  of  this  report. 

A  DELEGATE:     I   would   like   to  ask   Mr.   Rushmore   a   question. 
Has  your  company  gone  into  the  matter  of  the  storage  battery  loco- 
motives to  any  extent,  and  if  so,  what  success  have  they  had  in  securing 
one  that  would  be  effective  in  underground  work? 

MR.  RUSHMORE:     We  have  gone  into  that  to  some  considerable 

extent,  and  have  already  manufactured  quite  a  number  of  such  locomo- 

Ihere  are  probably  more  in  use  in  industrial  plants   than   have 

yet   been   used   underground.     The   storage    battery   mining   locomotive 

s  not  yet  an  entirely  finished  product,  although   I  think  we  are  quite 

prepared  to  furnish  them  under  certain  conditions  and  for  certain  classes 

ot  service. 

MR.  GEORGE  S.  RICE:  I  would  like  to  ask  if  you  are  familiar 
with  the  storage  battery  locomotives  used  in  Westphalia,  Germany, 
and  what  the  shortcomings  may  be  of  that  system.  I  found  they  were 
used  in  gaseous  mines,  where  other  kinds  of  locomotives  are  not  per- 
mitted, and  they  seem  to  be  giving  fair  results,  but  I  have  merely  a 
superficial  knowledge  of  this. 

MR.  RUSHMORE:     I  am  not  familiar  with  those  particular  loco- 
Ordmanly    the    storage    battery    locomotive    is    handicapped 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  45 

somewhat  by  the  first  cost,  which  makes  it  practically  necessary  to 
create  a  power  station  on  the  locomotive.  The  battery  containing  the 
energy  with  which  the  machine  is  operated  is  somewhat  limited,  and 
it  necessarily  limits  the  amount  of  work  you  can  do  without  either 
replacing  the  batteries  or  recharging  them. 

I  think,  as  far  as  operations  in  gaseous  mines  are  concerned,  they 
ought  to  be  comparatively  safe.  The  only  problem  would  be  the 
sparking  of  the  commutator,  and  a  direct  motor  can  be  made  prac- 
tically safe  for  gaseous  mines  and  is  being  done  today  in  Germany 
and  this  country.  While  they  are  not  absolutely  safe,  I  think  there 
is  a  very  high  degree  of  safety,  and  the  question  is  merely  an  economic 
one. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  If  there  is  no  more  discussion  on  this  paper, 
we  will  adjourn  until  2  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

WEDNESDAY,  OCTOBER  22,  1913. 

Afternoon  Session. 
Meeting  opened  by  the  President. 
Resolution  No.  1,  Introduced  by  Sidney  Norman,  Spokane,  Wash. 

Realizing  that  dishonest  operations  of  the  financially  powerful 
are  of  greater  menace  to  the  mining  industry  than  are  similar  opera- 
tions oi  the  small  promoter,  who  has  already  been  checked  by  state 
statutes  for  which  this  organization  has  always  stood  sponsor  and 
which,  in  many  instances,  it  has  had  placed  upon  the  statute  books, 
the  American  Mining  Congress,  in  Sixteenth  Annual  Convention  as- 
sembled, goes  on  record  as  emphatically  favoring  the  institution  of 
universal  state  laws  that  will  provide  protection  to  minority  stock- 
holders by  making  directors  more  definitely-  responsible  for  their  wel- 
fare and  constituting  infraction  of  such  laws  a  felony,  punishable 
by  imprisonment. 

It  pledges  itself  to  support  legislation  necessary  to  put  such  laws 
into  effect  and  respectfully  suggests  that  the  Department  of  Justice 
investigate  scandals  recently  disclosed  regarding  securities  listed  on 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange  to  the  end  that  responsibility  may  be 
properly  placed  and  the  offenders  brought  to  justice. 

Copies  of  this  resolution  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  and 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  refer  that  to  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions. 

We  will  now  hear  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  General  Re- 
vision of  Mineral  Land  Laws,  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Kirby,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Revision  of  the  Mineral  Land  Laws  to  the 
American  Mining  Congress,  October  22,  1913. 

The  American  Mining  Congress  is  engaged  in  the  work  of  in- 
ducing the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  undertake  a  general  re- 
vision of  the  Mineral  Land  Laws  relating  to  the  location  and  develop- 
ment of  the  mineral  deposits  on  the  public  domain  in  the  United  States 
and  Alaska  and  known  as  the  Mining  Code. 

(To  this  end  the  American  Mining  Congress  is  urging  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Commission,  whose  members  shall  be  selected  for  their 
recognized  knowledge  and  experience  in  the  mining  industry.  This 


46  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

Commission  shall  consider  the  mining  laws  9f  this  and  other  coun- 
tries, and  shall  hold  public  hearings  in  the  principal  mining  communi- 
ties of  the  West  and  Alaska,  giving  full  opportunity  for  the  expres- 
sion of  public  opinion  concerning  the  problems  before  it.  Its  recom- 
mendations shall  be  presented  to  Congress  in  a  form  of  a  fully  drafted 
Mining  Code.  It  is  not  attempted  to  have  this  include  deposits  of 
coal,  oil,  phosphate  or  salines,  because  these  are  generally  regarded 
as  the  subjects  of  other  and  special  legislation. 

The  American  Mining  Congress  is  therefore  not  attempting  at 
present  to  formulate  and  recommend  specific  changes  in  the  Mining. 
Code.  It  is  concentrating  its  efforts  upon  the  creation  of  machinery 
which  will  do  this  detail  work  of  revision,  and  will  do  it  in  a  way 
calculated  to  inspire  the  confidence  of  the  mining  communities  and 
appeal  to  the  common  sense  of  all  men. 

While  the  efforts  made  at  Washington  with  the  last  Congress  and 
Administration  were  not  successful,  they  showed  clearly  that  success 
will  be  only  a  matter  of  persistent  work,  and  meanwhile  the  active 
interest  created  by  the  movement  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
in  this  matter  is  rapidly  extending. 

The  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  whose  4600  mem- 
bers include  most  of  the  men  in  charge  of  the  more  important  mining 
and  metallurgical  enterprises  of  the  country,  has  just  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  prominent  members  to  take  up  the  work  of  securing  a  re- 
vision of  the  mining  laws  and  intends  to  press  the  matter  with  all  its 
power. 

The  Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society  of  America  has  recently 
announced  itself  as  strongly  desirous  of  a  general  revision,  and  it  has 
devoted  a  large  part  of  its  attention  this  year  to  a  general  discussion 
of  the  details  of  such  a  revision.  The  Society  has  clearly  presented 
the  existing  situation  in  the  following  language: 

"As  to  the  need  for  mining  law  revision  there  seems  to  be  no- 
doubt  whatever.  Congress  has  been  memorialized  by  our  greatest 
statesmen  and  economists,  by  Presidents,  Cabinet  Officers  and  Di- 
rectors of  the  Land  Department  and  of  the  Geological  Survey.  As- 
sociations of  Commercial  and  Mining  men  in  all  parts  of  the  land 
have  voiced  the  necessity,  and  committee  after  committee  has  formu- 
lated its  suggestions  and  presented  them  to  a  heedless  Congress. 

"Mining  journals  have  teemed  with  articles  upon  the  subject,  promi- 
nent attorneys  and  jurists  have  discussed  it.  The  expensive  and  some- 
times disastrous  apex  litigation  in  almost  every  mining  district,  where- 
the  mine  proprietors  have  not  prudently  by  mutual  agreement  nulli- 
fied the  extralateral  right  provision  of  the  statutes  under  which  their 
title  was  acquired,  has  attracted  widespread  attention  to  some  of  the 
worst  defects  in  our  present  law,  until  scarcely  anyone  attempts  to 
defend  it,  and  yet  nothing  is  done." 

The  United  States  and  Alaska  are  suffering  from  mining  laws- 
which  were  framed  forty  years  ago,  and  have  since  become  inter- 
woven with  a  mass  of  supplementary  state  legislation  differing  in- 
every  state.  The  resulting  body  of  laws  is  at  variance  with  the  geo- 
logical realities  of  ore  deposit  structure  and  with  the  practical  opera- 
ions  of  mining.  It  has  furthermore  been  so  construed,  amended  and 
revised  by  judicial  interpretation  that  in  various  ways  it  has  become- 
Imost  impossible  for  the  courts  themselves  to  decide  what  it  really 
means.  Moreover  the  various  parts  of  the  Code  are  so  interdependent 
that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  correct  one  fault  without  revising 
it  as  a  whole. 

. Tne.  tact  .1S>  tnat  while  other  mining  countries  have  been  keeping- 
reir  mining  laws  up  to  the  requirements  of  modern  industry,  and  the- 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  47 

•standards  of  modern  ideas,  the  United  States  has  for  forty  years  been 
standing   still. 

Through  all  those  parts  of  the  mining  world  which  are  affected 
by  the  mineral  land  laws,  there  is  substantial  agreement  as  to  the 
evils  of  the  present  Mining  Code  arid  the  fact  that  a  revision  is 
.necessary. 

With  respect  to  the  details  of  the  changes  required  there  are 
naturally  differences  of  opinion,  and  it  is  necessary  to  compose  such 
differences  by  bringing  them  all  to  a  focus  before  some  authoritative 
body  which  has  the  power  of  decision.  This  body,  or  Commission, 
.must  necessarily  have  a  personnel  which  will  inspire  confidence.  There 
are,  moreover,  a  number  of  difficult  problems^  in  such  a  revision,  for 
which  all  the  experience  and  knowledge  which  the  mining  commu- 
nities can  furnish  is  needed.  By  the  system  of  public  hearings  pro- 
posed for  the  Commission  these  problems  may  be  so  threshed  out  as 
to  bring  the  mining  public  and  the  Commission  to  substantially  the 
same  conclusions  as  to  the  best  solutions  for  them. 

The  work  done  by  this  Committee  has  made  it  clear  that  the  Ameri- 
can Mining  Congress  has  adopted  a  plan  of  action  which  appeals 
to  the  judgment  of  the  great  majority  of  men,  and  reduces  to  a  mini- 
mum the  number  of  objectors.  In  fact,  it  is  believed  to  be  the  only 
practicable  plan  for  securing  the  end  desired. 

The  work  to  be  done  now  lies  at  Washington,  and  the  difficulty 
to  be  overcome  is  the  fact  that  very  few?  of  the  legislators  there  know 
anything  about  mining  or  mining  laws.  They  are  naturally  slow  to 
move  in  a  matter  which  they  do  not  understand,  and  in  which  they 
.are  not  yet  interested,  and  to  overcome  this  indifference  requires 
steady,  persistent  work  by  someone  who  can  stay  at  Washington.  At 
present  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  accomplishing  this  work  until 
the  Secretary  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  is  given  the  means 
with  which  to  do  it,  and  the  Committee  strongly  urges  this  course 
to  supplement  such  efforts  as  it  can  make  through  correspondence 
and  the  occasional  visits  of  its  members. 

That  the  plan  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  will  be  adopted 
-.soiner  or  later  is  certain.  The  regular  session  of  Congress  this 
winter  will  afford  the  first  opportunity  of  presenting  that  matter  to 
the  new  Congress  and  Administration,  and  now  that  all  the  important 
organizations  of  the  mining  men  are  actively  working  to  the  same 
end,  there  is  every  reason  to  expect  success  at  an  early  date. 

EDMUND   B.  KIRBY, 

Chairman. 

MR.  SIDNEY  NORMAN:  Mr.  President,  I  take  pleasure  in  movr 
ing  the  adoption  of  that  report,  and  extending  the  thanks  of  the  Con- 
vention to  this  Committee,  and  also  add  to  that  motion  that  the  Com- 
mittee be  continued. 

Seconded;   motion   carried. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  now  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
from  the  Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Mr.  George 
Otis  Smith  on  "Plain  Talk." 

MR.  SMITH:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  My  contribution  this 
afternoon  to  the  discussion  of  Federal  Mining  Laws,  both  in  its  form 
;and  substance,  is  actuated  by  a  desire  to  get  down  to  the  facts.  In 
trakirg  ny  appeal  -for  "Plain  Talks,"  however,  I  have  no  intention  of 
being  offensively  personal  in  any  reference  to  my  fellow  orators.  In 
fact,  I  might  cite  as  an  illustration  of  the  kind  of  language  that  I  criti- 
-cise  and  condemn  in  the  paper  which  has  been  printed  and  distributed, 
•as  an  illustration  of  that,  a  case  in  which  I  myself  was  the  offender. 


48  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

Some  years  ago,  before  a  Congressional  Committee,  I  was  asked 
to  define  Conservation.  I  was,  of  course,  influenced  by  my  environ- 
ment and  I  expressed  myself  to  the  effect  that  my  conception  of  con- 
servation was  utilization  with  a  maximum  of  efficiency  and  a  minimum 
of  waste.  That  sounded  so  well  that  I  was  perfectly  safe;  there  was 
no  further  inquiry,  the  long  words  did  the  work.  In  fact,  I  used  only 
one  good  Anglo-Saxon  word  and  that  was  "Waste." 

If  I  were  to  give  a  definition  of  the  same  word  —  if  I  would  define 
conservation  today,  I  rather  think  that  instead  of  using  that  language 
I  would  say  that  conservation  means  simply  using  as  much  and  wasting 
as  little  as  we  can. 

The  things  which  I  wish  to  emphasize  in  the  paper  which  you 
have  before  you  are  the  importance,  first,  of  considering  the  basic 
principles  in  these  matters  of  public  policy,  and,  second,  of  having  prac- 
tical, every-day  men  of  the  engineer  type,  like  you  men  whom  I  see 
before  me,  work  out  these  principles  into  practice.  The  man  who  knows 
must  take  a  larger  part  in  these  matters  of  practical  statesmanship;  in 
working  out  the  underlying  principles  we  must  think  for  ourselves  and 
try  to  study  the  trend  of  events  rather  than  to  guess  the  route  of 
somebody's  band  wagon.  Some  of  the  principles  I  have  set  down,  not  as 
novel,  but  as  true,  are  principles  that  must  be  taken  into  consideration 
in  any  discussion  of  new  laws  for  the  disposition  of  mineral  lands  be- 
longing to  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Smith's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  154  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  subjects  of  the  principal  addresses  this 
afternoon  are  so  interlaced  that  perhaps  we  had  better  postpone  the 
discussion  of  Dr.  Smith's  paper  until  after  we  hear  the  succeeding  ones, 
and  all  can  be  discussed  together,  with  greater  advantage. 

We  are  fortunate  enough  in  having  with  us  this  afternoon  Senator 
John  F.  Shafroth,  of  Colorado,  who  will  address  us  on  the  Federal 
Administration  of  Public  Lands  as  it  affects  the  mining  industry. 

Senator  Shafroth's  address  will  be  found  at  page  165  of  the  report.    ' 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  are  exceedingly  fortunate  in  having  with 
us  this  afternoon  the  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Mines  and 
Mining,  Senator  Thomas  J.  Walsh,  of  Montana.  We  would  be  pleased 
to  have  him  lead  the  discussion  on  the  subject  we  are  considering. 

Senator  Walsh's  address  will  be  found  at  page  175  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:-  Another  member  of  our  Governmental  family 
who  is  favoring  us  with  his  presence  this  afternoon  is  Mr.  A.  A.  Jones, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Mr.  Jones'  address  will  be  found  at  page  185  of  this  report. 

DIRECTOR  SMITH:  I  am  not  only  interested,  but  quite  sympa- 
thetic with  the  Senator  from  Colorado  in  his  expression  of  the  need  of 
bringing  Western  experience  to  bear  upon  these  questions.  I  think, 
however,  if  a  census  were  taken  in  Washington,  it  would  show  not 
only  that  the  West  is  ably  represented  in  Congress,  but  also  that  the 
Departmental  Service  is  shot  through  and  through  with  men  from  the 
West,  who  are  in  a  position  to  take  up  this  difficult  proposition.  I 
suppose  the  one  man  in  the  Geological  Survey  who  has  done  the  most 
work  on  the  valuation  of  coal  lands  is  one  who  was  born  and  educated 
in  Colorado  and  is  a  citizen  of  Colorado,  and  if  there  is  anything  'the 
matter  with  that  policy,  I  am  going  to  insist  that  Colorado  take  its 
tun  share  of  the  blame,  because  I  rely  upon  the  advice  of  that  member 
of  the  Survey  to  whom  I  have  alluded. 

' 


SHAFROTH:     I  want  to  say  I  have  never  criticized 
*      ™rPaStT0r  the  Present  administration  with  respect  to  carrying 
out      What  I  am  opposed  to  is  the  policy  of  leasing.     While  there 
nave   been  many  criticisms  made  against  Mr.   Pinchot  and  against  the 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  49 

individual,  I  know  you  cannot  put  forth  a  policy  and  carry  it  out  with- 
out many  violations  of  what  is  right  in  individual  conduct,  and  for  that 
reason  I  have  never  attempted  in  my  speeches  to  criticize  individuals. 

MR.  SMITH:  I  think  the  Senator  and  I  do  not  misunderstand  each 
other.  I  referred  to  this  case  and  can  refer  to  other  cases  where  the 
men  who  are  having  most  to  do  with  influencing  me,  for  instance,  on 
these  matters  of  the  proper  public  land  policy  are  men  who  are  either 
residents  of  the  West,  or  men  who  have  put  their  best  work  and  secured 
their  best  experience  in  the  West,  which  simply  shows  that  we  are 
already  looking  to  the  West  for  light,  and  I  think  the  policies  that  are 
being  adopted,  under  those  circumstances,  are  policies  that  are  fully 
sympathetic  with  the  West.  That  is  not  a  question  that  the  Senator 
and  I  can  quarrel  over.  Nor  will  we  on  the  question  of  statistics  of 
acreage.  The  fact  is,  the  Senator  and  I  cannot  keep  right  up  to  date 
on  how  many  acres  have  been  withdrawn.  I  think  possibly  five  mil- 
lion acres  is  closer  to  the  actual  fact  than  nine  million  acres,  but  I  will 
not  insist  on  exact  figures  since  we  are  reducing  the  withdrawn  area  so 
fast  I  cannot  keep  up  with  the  figures  myself.  Within  six  months  we 
have  restored  two  and  a  half  million  acres  right  in  Colorado  alone. 

SENATOR  SHAFROTH:  We  want  to  thank  you  very  much  for 
doing  that.  (Laughter. 

MR.  SMITH:  Out  in  Denver  they  had  a  similar  experience;  -they 
thought  they  had  more  land  tied  up  than  was  actually  tied  up.  Only 
yesterday  I  recommended  nearly  a  half  million  acres  of  restorations, 
and  I  suppose  Colorado  had  her  share.  I  remember  that  Montana  had  a 
large  amount.  The  bulk  of  the  withdrawal  talks  which  we  hear  so 
much  is  to  the  effect  that  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  acres  are  with- 
drawn. This  figure  shrinks  a  good  deal  when  we  examine  the  facts. 
I  am  speaking  roughly,  because  I  cannot  keep  up  to  date  on  these 
figures,  but  there  were  less  than  sixty  million  acres  of  coal  lands  with- 
drawn on  July  1st. 

SENATOR  SHAFROTH:  I  understood  a  hundred  and  ninety-five 
million.  , 

MR.  SMITH:  We  never  had  that  much  land  withdrawn.  I  think 
sixty  or  seventy  million  is  the  present  figure,  somewhere  around  there. 
The  bulk  of  it  is  coal  land  withdrawn  simply  for  the  purpose  of  classi- 
fication into  non-coal  lands,  or  coal  lands,  and  the  latter  even  are  re- 
stored to  agricultural  entry  for  the  surface,  and  to  coal  entry  for  the 
coal  in  the  lands.  That  kind  of  classification  and  restoration  has  gone 
on  right  along.  Every  month  we  whittled  away  a  pretty  good  amount, 
say  one  million  acres.  If  we  had  more  money  we  could  whittle  faster. 
(Laughter.) 

The  fact  is  we  are  reducing  these  withdrawals  constantly  and  ma- 
terially. We  have  outside  of  the  coal  withdrawals  about  ten  million 
acres,  four  million  acres  of  oil,  which  may  be  chiefly  public  land  or 
it  may  not  be.  The  Supreme  Court  is  passing  on  that.  These  with- 
drawals look  big  on  paper,  but  the  area  is  not  quite  as  large  if  we 
should  cut  out  some.  We  have  about  three  million  acres  of  phosphate 
lands  and  possibly  two  million  acres  in  the  water  power  sites.  The 
water  power  sites  and  the  oil  lands  and  the  phosphate  lands  we  are 
holding,  pending  legislation,  in  the  hope  that  we  are  soon  to  get  some 
laws  that  will  provide  for  the  proper  kind  of  disposition.  If  Congress 
says  "Sell,"  these  lands  will  be  opened  for  sale.  If  Congress  says 
"Lease,"  they  will  be  opened  for  leasing. 

If  it  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  this  present  argument  with  the 
Senator  from  Colorado,  I  would  say  that  the  bulk  of  these  restorations 
in  progress  at  the  present  time  is  in  Montana,  but  I  can  say  that  this 
question  of  acreages  is  a  very  lively  one,  and  we  cannot  speak  by  the 
as  regards  exact  statistics. 


t0  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  sales  of  coal  lands:  Since  we  adopted  the- 
present  policy  the  sales  have  been  approximately  the  same  as  they  were 
for  the  same  period  before.  In  Colorado  tke  fuel  companies,  railroads 
and  private  individuals,  and  the  State  of  Colorado  together  own  a  good 
deal  of  coal  land.  The  General  Land  Office  sold  last  year  about  the 
same  tonnage  of  coal  in  public  lands  in  Colorado  as  the  coalcompanies 
were  mining  from  priaate  lands  in  that  State.  We  are  meeting  the 
market  demands  even  at  these  prices.  Of  course  we  haven't  sold  any 
coal  lands  in  Colorado  at  $400^  but  we  went  across  into  Wyoming  and 
did  it.  We  sold  a  section  of  land  for  $400,  wfaich  is  saving  for  public- 
use  the  money  that  formerly  went  into  the  hands  of  the  speculator. 

But  the  question  of  taxation,  although  I  did  not  touch  upon  it  in, 
my  paper,  I  realize,  is  a  very  important  phase  of  this  question,  and  I 
would  take  exception  to  some  things  said  by  the  Senator.  In  the  first 
place,  this  holding  the  land  at  coal  land  prices  is  not  keeping  the  people 
off  the  land,  it  is  not  preventing  the  disposition  of  the  surface  of  that 
land.  The  land  is  going  into  the  hands  of  the  men  on  the  ground,  the- 
surface  entrymen,  and  they  are  paying  their  taxes  to  the  State  of 
Colorado.  It  is  true  the  coal  under  that  land  is  being  reserved,  and 
is  not  ready  for  taxation,  but  when  it  is  sold  it  at  once  becomes  taxable^ 
and  can  be  taxed  by  the  State. 

In  regard  to  taxation  an  argument  can  be  made  in  favor  of  the 
policy  of  putting  a  price  on  the  land.  The  Federal  Government  has 
been  helping  out  the  Western  States  in  this  matter  of  taxation,  because 
in  the  Western  States — I  cannot  say  Colorado,  though  I  know  it  is  true  in 
Montana  and  New  Mexico — the  States  are  beginning  to  put  a  tax  valu- 
ation on  coal  lands  that  expresses  the  coal  value,  and  they  are  copying 
our  figures  that  express  that  coal  value.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
in  Montana  is  paying  taxes  on  its  coal  lands,  as  coal  lands.  So  the 
Federal  Government  is  in  this  indirect  way  really  helping  the  States.  I 
had  on  my  desk  the  other  day  a  request  from  one  of  the  Western 
States  to  give  the  totals-  of  all  valuations  for  the  use  of  the  County 
Board  of  Appraisers. 

Now  as  to  what  we  think  of  this  matter  of  leasing  the  coal  lands.  I 
think  my  proposition  is  simply  that  the  United  States  should  prepare 
to  follow  the  excellent  example  of  policy  and  practice  which  is  afforded 
by  the  States  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  who  do  not  sell  their  own. 
coal  lands,  but  lease  them.  If  we  went  a  trifle  further  West  we  would 
find  one  State  that  is  not  as  wise  as  these  States  we  mention,  but 
actually  sold  for  a  pittance  coal  lands  which  were  adjacent  to  public 
lands  which  contains  an  undeveloped  resource.  Why  should  we  not- 
quarter  and  two  dollars  and  a  half.  There  are  the  two  extremes — one 
State  selling  the  land  for  a  pittance  and  the  other  holding  their  lands 
in  the  name  of  the  State  and  leasing  them  at  a  fair  figure.  We  prefer 
to  follow  the  example  of  Colorado. 

In  this  matter  of  taxation — I  believe  the  subject  has  been  dis- 
cussed at  another  session — I  think  we  should  look  forward  rathter- 
than  backward.  Why  should  we  continue  in  the  idea  of  taxing  the 
lands  valued  at  fifty  dollars — t$Q  State  sold  out  for  one  dollar  and  a 
in  the  Southwestern  part  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  North- 
eastern part  of  the  United  States,  turn  our  faces  in  the  other  direction? 
We  talk  about  taxing  the  output  of  timber  land  in  the  Eastern  States. 
Why  isnt  it  a  good  policy  for  coal  lands  in  the  Western  States?  So- 
I  think  the  policy  to  advocate  is  to  tax  the  product  of  the  land.  I 
am  not  a  lawyer,  so  I  cannot  speak  with  the  assurance  of  a  lawyer 
about  the  right  of  the  State  to  tax  a  mining  right  or  lease.  I  know 
a  lawyer  who  thinks  the  State  has  such  power,  but  I  do  not  think:: 
there  is  any  question  about  the  State  taxing  the  product  of  the  mine. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  51 

Suppose  we  follow  the  example  of  Colorado  and  charge  ten  cents 
,per  ton  on  the  coal.  The  simplest  thing  is  to  divide  that  royalty  be- 
tween the  Government  land  owner  and  the  State.  Permit  me  to 
indulge  in  some  very  simple  arithmetic.  Take  that  land  in  Wyoming 
which  sold  for  $400  per  acre,  a  sale  amounting  to  over  a  quarter  of 
.a  million  dollars.  At  the  present  time  that  sale  could  be  added  to 
the  property  which  could  be  taxed  by  the  state  of  Wyoming.  I  do 
not  know  the  tax  rate  up  there,  but  under  the  sale  policy  that  land  is 
taxable  just  as  the  Senator  believes  it  should  be.  There  is  also  a  plant 
which  must  be  erected  on  that  land  which  will  probably  cost  more 
.than  the  land.  The  land  was  sold  pretty  cheap,  you  see.  If  now 
we  should  consider  that  the  plant  has  an  output  of  one-half  million 
dollars  a  year  and  we  would  consider  that  this  land,  instead  of  being 
sold,  was  leased  by  the  State  of  Wyoming  or  the  United  States, 
there  would  be  a  royalty  of  some  fiffty  thousand  dollars  paid  annually 
to  the  Federal  Government.  Now  wouldn't  it  be  fair  to  divide  that 
royalty  and  give  Colorado  or  Wyoming  a  return  that  would  exceed 
.any  reasonable  tax  that  would  be  put  on  the  land?  So  I  think  we 
do  not  need  feel  that  the  State  has  no  possible  way  to  getting  re- 
turns in  money  in  case  there  should  be  Federal  leases  as  well  as  a 
state  lease,  or  a  system  of  Federal  lease  instead  of  a  Federal  policy  of 
sale. 

I  was  interested  when  the  Senator  from  Montana  brought  up  the 
particular  case  where  the  coal  company  had  exhausted  its  land.  Now 
it  wants  to  buy  or  lease  adjacent  public  land.  Why?  The  reason 
is  that  they  can  make  better  terms  with  the  Federal  Government 
than  they  can  with  the  property  owners  whose  lands  surround  the 
•  coal  company's  mine.  They  would  rather  pay  five  cents  to  the  Gov- 
ernment than  twelve  cents  to  the  corporate  owner.  The  same  way 
with  oil,  the  Federal  lease  promises  to  be  more  beneficial,  more  satis- 
factory than  dealings  with  middlemen. 

SENATOR  SHAFROTH:  The  gentleman  referred  to  Colorado, 
.and  the  policy  which  had  been  pursued  by  Colorado.  I  wish  to  show 
that  he  has  not  stated  a  parallel  case.  In  the  first  place,  I  want  to 
explain  how  the  sales  have  been  made  by  the  Government  in  the  policy 
he  has  assumed. 

It  was  decreed  in  the  early  days  when  coal  lands  were  taken  up 
that  twenty  dollars  an  acre  should  be  paid  for  land  within  a  given 
-distance  of  a  railroad,  and  ten  dollars  an  acre  beyond  that  distance. 

Under  that  policy  these  lands  were  disposed  of  at  ten  dollars  and 
twenty  dollars  an  acre,  and  we  have  today  in  Colorado  nine  million 
acres  of  coal  lands  that  have  not  been  taken  up  at  all  under  that  ten 
dollar  provision.  It  showed  it  was  a  wise  policy  in  developing  the 
-country. 

Now  the  Government  for  th,e  past  ten  or  twelve  years  has  been 
withholding  those  lands  by  reason  of  that,  although  the  march  of 
•civilization  has  gone  on.  These  lands  have  become  more  valuable.  By 
reason  of  that  the  department  officials  have  not  acted  as  they  should,  in 
my  opinion.  Nevertheless,  I  am  not  here  protesting  that  these  lands  be 
sold  at  the  low  price.  I  am  not  here  to  say  if  this  land  is  worth  four 
hundred  dollars  an  acre,  it  should  be  sold  for  less. 

I  want  to  say  in  this  very  instance  that  Mr.  Smith  cites  of  land 
being  sold  for  four  hundred  dollars  an  acre.  I  want  to  know  why 
Wyoming  should  have  been  for  years  deprived  of  the  tax  on  that  land. 
It  is  the  pfevention  of  the  right  of  the  State  to  tax  that  I  am  pro- 
testing against. 

In  relation  to  the  coal  lands  acquired  by  the  State,  the 
State  has  taken  these  lands  for  the  purpose  of  development.  The 


52  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

very  object  and  purpose  of  the  Government  giving  those  lands  is 
for  the  State  to  make  those  lands  as  valuable  as  they  can  and  get  as 
much  revenue  as  they  can  to  help  the  National  Government  itself,  and 
in  the  case  of  State  lands,  all  the  money  comes  into  the  State  Treasury, 
and  it  realizes  just  as  much  in  the  payment  of  dues  to  the  State  as  if  it 
had  a  tax  collector  upon  the  land,  and  consequently  it  is  in  the  same 
condition  as  where  the  National  Government  takes  something  within 
State  jurisdiction,  the  proceeds  of  which  goes  to  its  own  treasury.  There 
is  the  difference.  The  State  government  can  lease  or  sell  the  land 
at  as  high  price  as  it  pleases,  because  the  land  goes  to  the  payment 
of  the  taxes  and  expenses  of  the  State.  That  is  perfectly  proper. 
But  when  you  come  to  the  National  Government,  who  takes  that  money 
and  puts  it  into  the  Treasury,  money  that  should  be  taxed  by  the  State, 
it  is  an  entirely  different  proposition.  Remove  the  question  of  taxation 
and  then  you  will  win  the  case.  The  Government  cannot  hold  and 
should  not  hold  these  lands  just  as  it  did  in  Wyoming,  up  here,  worth 
four  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  and  yet  the  burden  of  maintaining  the 
State,  county  and  schools  falls  upon  the  people. 
It  is  wrong  in  the  fundamental  principle. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  To  complete  our  official  view  of  the  situation 
we  would  like  very  much  to  hear  from  Mr.  Clay  Tallman,  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office. 

Mr.  Tallman's  address  will  be  found  at  page  188  of  this  report. 

SENATOR  SHAFROTH:  I  want  to  say  with  relation  to  the  check 
that  the  distinguished  visitor  from  the  land  office  has  mentioned  that 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  every  dollar  which  is  expended  by  the 
Government  has  got  to  be  assessed  against  the  very  land  owner  who 
gets  the  benefit  from  the  improvement  and  is  paid  to  the  Government 
to  reimburse  it  for  its  expense;  then  the  Government  is  through  with 
it;  iris  only  a  loan,  until  the  owner  of  it  pays  it  back.  It  is  merely 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  these  irrigation  works  and  then  letting 
the  owners  of  the  land  benefited  by  that  work  pay  the  cost  back  into 
the  Government  Treasury. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Gentlemen,  the  hour  for  closing  our  after- 
noon session  has  already  arrived,  and  we  have  one  more  paper,  which  I 
think  will  have  to  be  read  by  title  and  appear  in  the  transaction-the 
observations  of  Dr.  Erasmus  Haworth,  Lawrence,  Kan.  on  "Federal 
rVcords"  ^  Sch0°ls'  Which  wil1  be  read  bv  title  and  appear  in  the 


-  of,the.  Committee  on  Mining  Investments  is  in  order  at 
t       I?  thef  absen^  of  the  chairman..  Mr.  W.  R.  Allen,  of  Butte, 
,  the  Secretary  will  present  his  report. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Mining  Investments. 

the  ^e'c£?UJ  ^°mmiftt«Ki°n  fining  Investments,  to  whom  was  referred 
as  follows:  y     legislation,  do  report  and  recommend 


°f  "bJUf  sky'L  law  le^islation  h^  shown  that  the 
tr,    f  ,,^PaSSeduhave  the  earmarks  of  politics;  this  we  de 

&§ 


the  s^verl'l^t^'"''18  St°Cks  are  found  to  be  for  sale  in  a  great  many  of 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  53 

presented  to  it.  That  copies  of  the  bill  and  resolution  of  indorsement 
be  printed  and  placed  with  the  Secretary  and  Executive  Commitee  and 
officers  of  the  Congress,  with  instructions  to  mail  the  same  with  letter 
of  transmittal  to  the  Governor  and  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  of 
each  State  when  the  Legislatures  are  in  session. 

3.  That  the  bill  drafted  and  receiving  the  indorsement  of  this  Con- 
gress be  aimed  at  honest  State  regulated  publicity  of  facts  sufficient  to 
advise  a  prospective  investor  as  to  the  assets   of  the  company,  its  re- 
sources and  indebtedness,  and  such  other  facts  as  are  legitimately  public 
property  in  any  industrial   or  commercial   company,  and  that  such   pub- 
licity be  under  State  supervision  and  become  a  permanent  State  record' 
with  the  proper  officer,  and  that  no  arbitrary  power,  with  reference  to 
the   sale,    disposition    or   marketing   of   mining   stocks,   be    placed   in   the 
hands  of  a  single  individual  or  of  any  State  or  political  boards,  and  that 
such  bill  see  to  it  that  mining  companies  be  protected  from  unjust  dis- 
crimination as  to  their  stocks  and  their  publicity  as  compared  with  any 
other  stock — industrial,  mercantile  or  others. 

4.  We  recommend  that  each  member  of  the  Congress  keep  in  touch 
with  this  legislation  in  his  State,  and  through  the  Secretary  and  Execu- 
tive  officers   of  the   Congress,   furnish   the   influential   members   of   their 
several  Legislatures  with  copies  of  the  bill  and  its  indorsement  from  this 
Congress.     And   also  use   every   honorable   effort   to    see   that   the   only 
"blue  sky"  law  passed  be  the  one  having  the  indorsement  of  this  Con- 
gress. 

5.  That  this  Congress  take  steps  to  have  a  uniformity  of  laws  upon 
this  subject  and  that  we  endeavor  to  obtain  reasonable  national  legisla- 
tion upon  this  subject. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

W.  R.  ALLEN,  Chairman. 

THE  PRESIDENT:    We  hope  all  will  be  present  to-night  promptly 
at  8  o'clock  to  listen  to  the  address  of  Dr.  Van  Hise. 
Adjourned  until  8  P.  M. 

WEDNESDAY,  OCTOBER  22,  1913. 
Evening  Session. 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  the  First  Vice-President,  Mr.  Hennen 
Jennings. 

CHAIRMAN  JENNINGS:  The  meeting  will  please  come  to  order. 
The  Secretary  has  some  announcements  to  make  and  some  resolutions 
to  read. 

THE  SECRETARY:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  first  to  announce 
that  the  paper  which  appears  on  the  program  for  this  evening  session, 
following  the  address  of  Dr.  Van  Hise,  was  mistakenly  placed  at  that 
place  on  the  program.  It  should  have  appeared  as  the  first  thing  ora 
Thursday  morning. 

RESOLUTION   NO.  2 
(Introduced  by  David  W.  Brunton.) 

RESOLVED:  That  the  Mineral  Land  Law  Revision  Com- 
mittee of  the  American  Mining  Congress  be  requested  to  confer 
with  and,  if  possible,  enlist  the  support  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Mining  Engineers,  The  Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society 
and  all  other  kindred  organizations  in  an  effort  to  bring  about 
such  amendments  to  the  mineral  land  tews  of  the  United  States 
as  will  inure  to  the  benefit  of  the  Mining  Industry. 


S4  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

;r  RESOLUTION   NO.  3 

(Introduced  by  Charles  E.  Maurer,  of  Ohio.) 
WHEREAS,    There  are  at  present  a  great  many  different 

schemes  and  systems  of  valuation  of  mining  properties  lor  the 

purpose  of  taxation,  and 

WHEREAS,    There  is  a  tendency  in  many  of  the  States  to 

place  an  undue  share  of  the  burden  of  taxation  upon  the  mining 

industry,  and 

WHEREAS,    There    should    be    some    uniform    system    of 

valuation  of  mining  properties  for  the  purpose  of  taxation,  there- 
fore, be  it 

RESOLVED,    That   a   special   committee   of  the   American 

Mining  Congress  be  appointed  to  investigate  and  recommend  a 

fair,  uniform  and  equitable  basis  of  valuation  upon  which  taxes 

shall  be  assessed. 

CHAIRMAN:     Referred  to  the  Resolutions  Committee. 

THE  CHAIRMAN;  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  we  have  the  privilege 
tonight  of  hearing  an  address  by  Dr.  Charles  R.  Van  Hise,  President  of 
the  Wisconsin  University,  Madison,  Wis.,  on  "The  Relation  of  Big 
Business  to  Industrial  Prosperity,  with  Special  Reference  to  Mining." 
I  have  the  honor  and  privilege  of  introducing  to  you  Dr.  Van  Hise. 
(Applause.) 

Dr.  Van  Hise's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  391  of  the  report. 

DR.  E.  W.  PARKER,  Washington,  D.  C.:  May  I  ask  one  question, 
Professor?  Do  you  include  the  labor  question? 

DR.  VAN  HISE:  I  do  include  the  labor  question.  As  a  parallel 
to  the  proposed  commissions,  we  should  think  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission.  Gradually,  step  by  step,  its  power  has 
developed;  at  first  moderate,  and  now  extensive.  Labor  is  entitled  to  a 
reasonable  wage;  labor  is  entitled  to  reasonable  living  conditions.  Both 
of  these  would  be  securable  under  the  system  advocated,  because  the 
commission  could  take  them  into  account  and  impose  such  conditions 
as  would  result  in  reasonable  wages,  sanitation  and  safety.  The  question 
of  whether  or  not  the  commission  should  have  authority  to  fix  wages, 
or  to  have  the  regulation  of  wages,  of  course,  would  be  one  of  the  last 
to  be  taken  up.  How  far  the  regulations  should  >go  finally,  I  would  not 
pretend  to  say. 

In  the  case  of  the  railroads,  it  so  happens  that  I  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  arbitration  which  spent  several  months  on  the  labor 
problems  submitted  to  it.  The  board  took  the  position  that  if  the  public 
compels  the  operation-of  the  railroads  and  the  commissions  control  the 
prices  which  may  be  charged  by  them,  labor  should  surrender  its  right 
to  strike  and  submit  to  regulation.  A  great  railroad  strike  might  tie  up 
the  railroads  for  a  section  of  the  country  as  large  as  France  and  with  a 
population  as  great.  This  would  result  in  much  loss  of  life  and  immeas- 
urable suffering.  No  man  or  group  of  men,  either  laborers  or  operators, 
or  the  two  combined,  should  ever  have  such  a  right.  He  who  goes  into 
the  railroad  service  should  surrender  the  privilege  of  strike  in  the  public 
interest,  but  if  he  does  so,  he  should  have  the  protection  of  a  public 
commission. 

I  am  not  so  absurd  as  to  expect  that  all  the  things  advocated  will 
be  accomplished  at  once.  In  America  we  move  conservatively.  We 
take  at  first  a  short  step  and  see  how  that  will  work,  what  it  will  accom- 
plish; and  with  the  experience  of  that  step  we  take  the  next. 

DR.  RUFUS  J.  FOSTER:  In  Dr.  Van  Hise's  address  he  quoted  a 
statement  in  regard  to  Dr.  Holmes,  which  I  would  like  to  correct,  from 
actual  knowledge  and  experience. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  55 

i3r.  Holmes,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Van  Hise,  says  that  in  the  early  days 
of  mining,  no  more  than  thirty  per  cent,  or  forty  per  cent,  of  anthracite 
coal  would  be  brought  to  the  surface,  which  is  correct;  but  the  state- 
ment that  today  only  fifty  per  cent,  is  brought  to  the  surface  is 
absolutely  wrong.  In  many  instances,  as  high  as  ninety  per  cent,  is 
being  brought  to  the  surface,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that,  taking  the 
region  as  a  whole,  seventy-five  to  eighty  per  cent,  is  being  brought  to 
the  surface;  and,  further  than  that,  much  of  the  coal  that  was  abandoned 
in  the  early  days  by  the  individual  operators,  working  under  the 
conditions  of  those  days,  is  being  utilized  now  by  the  companies  working 
the  same. 

As  an  instance,  I  would  just  cite  the  Centralia  Colliery,  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company,  which  is  located  in  very  close  proximity 
to  my  boyhood  home,  and  very  close  to  where  I  first  started  in  work 
in  my  profession  as  a  Mining  Engineer.  That  colliery  today,  and  for 
several  years  past,  has  been  mining  virgin  coal.  It  has  been  mining; 
its  coal  from  the  abandoned  workings  of  the  abandoned  Lawter  Runt, 
Colliery,  abandoned  over  thirty  years  ago.  The  Centralia  Colliery  itsefl1 
thirty  years  ago,  was  considered  practically  worked  out,  and  the  same 
can  be  said  of  the  coal  that  was  taken  from  the  old  workings  of  the 
Continental  Colliery.  That  is  just  one  instance  of  numerous  instances 
through  the  anthracite  veins.  It  has  come  about  by  greater  skill 
employed  by  the  companies,  by  better  facilities  in  every  way,  better 
machinery,  better  methods  and  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money 
that  the  individuals  could  not  afford  to  spend,  and  that  colliery  is  mining 
and  shipping  today  almost  as  much  coal  per  month  as  the  whole  four 
collieries  did  thirty  years  ago  together.  That  is  only  one  instance,  an<$ 
Dr.  Holmes'  statement  that  but  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  coal  is  taken  out  is. 
absolutely  untrue.  I  have  objected  to  it  in  the  past,  and  I  stand  again 
to  object  to  it,  and  it  will  be  borne  out  by  the  gentlemen  connected  with, 
these  collieries. 

DR.  VAN  HISE:  I  am  very  glad  to  have  the  correction.  It  does 
not  interfere,  however,  with  my  argument — indeed,  it  strengthens  it, 
because  the  increased  efficiency  described  has  come  in  connection  with 
concentration  in  the  anthracite  industry. 

A  DELEGATE:     I   think  it  strengthens  your  argument. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  In  connection  with  the  statement  made  with 
reference  to  your  Commission  in  Wisconsin  that  they  have  raised  the 
rates  in  a  number  of  cases  in  public  utilities,  I  have  forgotten  what  the 
percentage  was  in  comparison  with  those  that  were  advanced. 

DR.  VAN  HISE:  They  have  done  more  in  lowering  than  increasing: 
the  rates.  One  thing  ^  of  great  importance  is  inequality.  Those 
inequalities  have  been  eliminated.  But  some  telephone  companies  were- 
too  optimistic;  they  did  not  realize  how  quickly  their  equipment  de- 
teriorates, and  they  were  charging  such  a  low  rate  that  they  were 
losing  money  if  depreciation  were  taken  into  account.  In  this  class  of 
cases,  rates  have  been  advanced  by  the  commission,  but  I  am  unable 
to  give  you  the  percentage  of  advance  in  the  different  instances. 

MR.  CHARLES  M.  MODERWELL,  Chicago,  111.:  If  the  Com- 
mission would  be  given  the  same  authority  as  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  has  in  regard  to  the  regulation  of  rates,  that  would  mean 
they  would  fix  maximum  prices;  our  question  would  be  what  to  do  with 
minimum  prices. 

DR.  VAN  HISE:  I  am  in  favor  of  both  maximum  and  minimum,, 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

THE  SECRETARY:  The  Nominating  Committee  is  requested  to 
meet  m  the  red  room  at  9  o'clock,  the  Resolutions  Committee 
at  9.15  tomorrow  morning. 


56  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

We  have  received  invitations  from  the  Hirsh  Electric  Company  to 
visit  their  plant,  also  from  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  and  John 
Wanamaker.  There  will  be  a  smoker  tomorrow  evening.  The  delegates 
are  requested  on  behalf  of  the  Entertainment  Committee  to  attend  the 
smoker.  Admission  will  be  by  ticket  only,  and  each  delegate  will 
receive  but  one  ticket.  Additional  tickets  can  be  secured  for  $2.00 
•each.  It  is  expected  that  the  tickets  will  be  on  hand  prior  to  the 
closing  of  this  session.  Ladies  visiting  Philadelphia  in  connection  with 
the  Convention  are  cordially  invited  to  occupy  the  upper  boxes  and 
enjoy  the  evening's  entertainment.  After  the  adjournment  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Mining  Show  has  consented  to  have  the  picture  show  of 
mining  operations  begin  at  10  o'clock  and  demonstrations  of  mine  safety 
and  first-aid  work  in  the  mine  at  10.15. 

CHAIRMAN:  Before  proposing  the  motion  of  adjournment,  I 
think  I  am  voicing  the  sentiment  of  this  Congress  and  whole  meeting 
in  extending  our  appreciative  thanks  to  Dr.  Van  Hise  for  presenting 
.great  public  questions  in  a  big,  grave  way.  (Applause). 

Meeting  Adjourned. 

THURSDAY,  OCTOBER  23,   1913. 
Morning  Session. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Secretary  will  make  some  announce- 
ments. 

THE  SECRETARY:  I  want  to  call  attention  first  to  the  smoker 
this  evening.  Tickets  are  ready  at  the  Registration  desk  for  those  who 
are  entitled  to  places  in  the  Convention.  If  you  present  your  appli- 
cation at  the  Registration  desk  you  will  be  supplied  with  tickets.  Those 
who  are  not  entitled  can  buy  tickets  for  their  friends  at  $2.00  each. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  morning  session,  all  of  you  will 
appear  on  the  street  in  front  of  the  hotel,  for  the  purpose  of  having 
a  photograph  taken  of  the  Convention. 

I  want,  also,  to  call  attention  to  another  matter.  One  of  the  officers 
of  the  Congress  this  morning  asked  me  whether  there  was  to  be  another 
demonstration  of  the  Mine  Safety  Work  at  Horticultural  Hall.  If 
you  will  read  the  program  carefully  you  will  see  it  provides  for  six 
demonstrations  daily,  which  will  continue  until  Saturday,  and  the 
moving-picture  show  of  mining  operations  at  regular  times. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  first  have  the  pleasure  this  morn- 
ing of  listening  to  Mr.  Charles  E.  Van  Barneveld,  of  San  Francisco, 
Cal.,  on  "The  Mineral  Division  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition." 

Mr.  Van  Barneveld's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  213  of  this  report. 

THE  SECRETARY:  I  beg  to  present  Resolution  No.  4,  by  Mr. 
S.  A.  Taylor,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

RESOLUTION  No.  4 
(Introduced  by  Samuel  A.  Taylor,  of  Pittsburgh.) 

WHEREAS,  It  is  very  desirable  from  all  standpoints  to 
have  a  more  uniform  system  of  Mine  Reports,  both  as  to  time 
of  making  the  same  and  to  the  subject  matter,  therefore,  be  it 
ESOLVED:  That  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey 
and  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  of  the  Federal 
Government  be  requested  to  co-operate  with  the  heads  of  the 
Department  of  Mines  or  the  proper  officers  of  the  various 
States,  together  with  a  committee  of  the  American  Mining 
Congress,  in  order  to  secure  uniformity  as  to  form  and  time  of 
tnaking  mining  statistical  reports. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  57 

THE   PRESIDENT:     Referred   to  the   Committee   on   Resolutions. 

MR.  S.  A.  TAYLOR:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  would  like  to  make  a 
motion.  I  will  make  the  motion  first  and  the  explanation  afterward.  I 
move  you  that  a  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  consisting  of  five 
members,  shall  be  appointed  to  act  with  the  President  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Association,  as  members  ex-officio,  to  take  up  the  question  of 
financing  this  Association. 

I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  generally  known  to  the  members  of 
the  Association  or  not,  but  the  fees  from  the  membership  are  not 
sufficient  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Congress.  The  work  of  the 
Congress  for  the  past  number  of  years  has  been  carried  on  at  a  great 
expense  by  the  Secretary,  and  it  has  reached  a  point  where  he  has  spent 
not  only  the  money  of  the  Congress,  but  a  great  deal  of  his  own 
personal  money  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  Congress,  and  it  seems 
to  me  this  is  unfair,  and  if  the  work  of  the  Congress  is  to  be  effective 
and  to  amount  to  anything,  those  interested  in  it  must  surely  finance  it. 
Therefore,  I  make  the  motion  that  is  now  made. 

Seconded. 

MR.  C.  O.  BARTLETT:  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  along  the 
line  of  Mr.  Taylor's  talk.  I  think  it  was  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  when 
we  had  the  Congress  in  Deadwood.  I  do  not  know  the  exact  number 
of  years,  but  it  was  before  Mr.  Callbreath's  time.  As  I  remember,  at 
that  time  I  had  a  .paper,  and  I  urged  upon  the  Congress  the  importance 
of  bringing  in  other  branches  of  mining.  For  instance,  they  were  telling 
us  at  Deadwood  that  the  production  of  that  great  mine  there  was  worth 
seven  million  dollars  a  year.  Now,  that  sounds  pretty  good,  and  it 
seemed  nice  to  go  through  the  mill  where  they  took  the  ore,  crushed 
it,  worked  down  over  the  plates  and  on  to  the  rolls,  and  I  was  thinking, 
and  I  said:  "While  you  are  producing  seven  million  dollars'  worth  of 
gold  here,  in  Vermont  they  are  producing  more  dollars  in  granite,  and 
they  take  that  granite  out  of  the  ground  and  supply  all  of  the  United 
States.  In  doing  it  they  employ  ten  men  where  you  do  one."  Therefore, 
I  thought  it  was  necessary  to  bring  other  mining  industries  into  this 
Congress.  This  has  been  done  to  a  great  extent,  but  not  largely  enough 
yet. 

For  instance,  two  years  ago,  at  the  Convention  held  at  Chicago,  the 
bituminous  coal  operators  began  to  realize  the  importance  of  having  an 
Association  of  this  kind.  This  year  it  is  down  here  among  the  hard 
coal — the  anthracite  men — and  I  am  glad  to  see  such  men  as  Mr. 
Richards,  of  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading,  and  other  hard  coal  miners. 
In  fact,  they  have  awakened  to  the  importance  of  the  fact  that  much  of 
goo.d  can  be  accomplished  through  such  a  movement.  So  far,  so  good. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  begin  to  realize  the  magnitude  of  the 
mining  business.  We  have  not  even  touched  iron  ore.  I  represent  the  lit- 
tle city  of  Cleveland,  a  little  city  on  Lake  Erie,  of  about  five  or  six  hundred 
thousand  people,  and  I  looked  up  the  statistics  and  found  the  amount  of 
ore  shipped  to  Cleveland  last  year  was  twenty-nine  million  five  hundred 
thousand  tons.  Now,  that  ore  in  that  city  and  other  cities  is  made  into 
other  things,  and  it  takes  an  immense  amount  of  work.  We  shipped  into 
that  city  last  year  ten  million  tons  of  coal.  We  are  able  to  produce  a 
ton  of  iron  a  little  cheaper  than  it  can  be  produced  anywhere  else  tn  the 
United  States,  so  that  we  produce  more  than  a  million  dollars'  worth 
of  stuff  a  day,  largely  connected  with  mining. 

In  the  city  of  Cleveland,  nineteen  hundred  and  forty  feet  below  the 
ground  we  have  developed  salt  mines,  taking  out  six  hundred  and  fifty 
tons  of  salt  a  day. 

Mining  is  a  mighty  big  word,  Mr.  Secretary;  it  means  a  whole  lot. 

Again,  the  city  of  Cleveland  produces  ten  million  dollars'  worth  of 
paint  a  year.  Paint  is  largely  composed  of  minerals.  We  have  to  have 


58  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

graphite,  lead,  zinc  and  other  things,  and  those  things  are  important,, 
very  important,  indeed,  and  now  when  you  have  taken  in  first  the  precious- 
metals,  then  the  soft  coal,  then  the  hard  coal,  let  us  go  on  to  the  iron;, 
that  is  the  thing  that  uses  the  coal.  We  have  so  many  foundries,  all 
over  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  many  manufacturers  using  two  hundred 
tons  a  day  under  their  boilers.  In  a  little  manufacturing  place,  one 
company  is  using  fifty  tons  of  coal  a  day.  Those  are  the  factories  that 
use  the  coal.  This  is  a  mighty  important  question.  There  is  no  better 
place  to  solve  it  than  through  the  American  Mining  Congress,  and  it 
ought  to  have  the  support,  not  only  of  the  gold  and  silver,  but  of  iron, 
lead  and  other  industries.  Jt  is  necessary  to  protect  ourselves.  We 
have  been  doing  a  little  something  at  these  meetings  every  year;  trying 
to  struggle  along  to  get  money  to  pay  our  Secretary,  who  is  not  paid 
half  enough.  He  has  been  working  hard,  while  you  and  I  have  been 
putting  in  a  few  days  to  help  him.  He  has  been  doing  considerable 
work  in  Washington,  I  understand,  and  now  I  am  going  to  request  the- 
Secretary  that  he  give  this  Congress  something  of  an  idea  of  the  work 
he  has  done,  and  what  is  required  to  do  future  work.  I  would  like  to- 
have  you  do  that  now,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Secretary. 

THE  PRESIDENT  (to  the  Secretary):     It  is  up  to  you. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of 
the  Convention:  The  President  says  it  is  up  to  me.  It  would  be  very 
difficult  for  me  to  tell  you  all  of  the  things  I  have  tried  to  do  in 
Washington  and  I  Jiardly  know  how  to  approach  the  subject.  It  is 
easy  for  on.e  to  say  because  a  certain  thing  has  been  done  that  the 
causes  he  has  put  in  motion,  or  has  helped  to  put  in  motion,  were 
responsible  for  that  result,  but  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
this  is  a  great  country;  that  the  men  who  represent  it  from  the  various- 
Congressional  and  Senatorial  districts  of  this  country  each  have  their 
own  ideas,  each  have  their  own  interests,  representing  their  own  people. 
Therefore,  when  a  cause  is  a  good  one — and  no  cause  can  succeed  at 
Washington  unless  it  is  a  good  one — there  are  many  influences  which 
come  together  in  the  great  stream  which  unite  in  bringing  about 
Congressional  action. 

I  think  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the- American  Mining  Congress  led 
the  effort  which  culminated  in  the  creation  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,. 
because  it  desired  the  greatest  co-operation  between  the  Federal 
Government  and  the  Mining  Industry,  but  for  me  to  assume  any  special 
credit  in  connection  with  it  would  be  very  unfair.  It  is  because  we 
have  been  able  to  bring  together  enough  of  other  influences  and  be- 
cause we  have  been  able  to  show  the  justice  of  *vhat  we  asked  that  suc- 
cess was  attained.  I  would  much  prefer  that  what  little  I  shall  say 
shall  be  addressed  to  the  future  rather  than  to  the  past. 

I  feel  that  those  who  have  worked  together  in  this  movement  have 
demonstrated  that  they  can  accomplish  something.  There  is  so  much 
more  yet  to  be  accomplished  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  who  have- 
worked  together  to  enlist  others  in  pressing  such  legislative  action  as 
the  Mining  Industry  needs.  The  Mining  Industry  is  of  vital  importance 
to  the  Nation.  First,  the  safety  of  the  workmen;  second,  efficiency  irr 
operation,  and  third,  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources,  are  ab- 
solutely essential  to  the  best  development  of  our  industrial  life.  When 
we  contemplate  all  of  the  things  which  ought  to  be  done  for  the  benefit 
directly  of  the  Mining  Industry  and,  indirectly,  for  the  benefit  of  every 
other  industry,  the  work  seems  appalling.  One  staggers  at  the  thought, 
until  he  realizes  that  the  forces  through  which  we  must  work  are  just 
as  anxious  to  do  the  right  thing  as  we  are  to  have  them  do  it. 

The  impression  often  prevails  that  members  of  Congress  go  down?' 
to  Washington,  answer  the  roll  call,  draw  their  pay,  play  golf  and  don'f 
do  much   else.     The  impression  is   in   the   minds   of  many  people   that 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  59 

-members  of  the  National  Congress  are  more  or  less  venal,  and  that  they 
.are  not  influenced  except  by  sinister  motives.  I  am  sorry  there  is  such 
.an  opinion  as  this,  as  I  think  I  know  it  to  be  absolutely  unjust.  The 
members  of  Congress  are  the  same  kind  of  men  you  would  be  if  your 
ambition  had  led  you  in  that  direction,  if  you  had  successfully  asked  the 
.support  of  the  people  in  your  Congressional  district  to  send  you  to  rep- 
resent them  at  Washington.  When  you  reached  Washington  you  found 
the  one  thing  you  regarded  as  the  important  thing,  mighty  insignificant 
when  compared  with  all  the  other  important  questions  which  were 
-crowded  upon  you  for  consideration. 

When  I  was  first  sent  to  Washington,  I  soon  found  that  Congress- 
men were  like  the  rest  of  us;  convince  them  that  a  thing  was  right  and 
they  would  give  it  support.  An  early  experience  was  a  call  upon  a 
prominent  Congressman  in  his  office.  His  desk  was  full  of  letters,  and 
he  was  dictating  to  his  stenographer.  I  gave  him  my  name  and  asked 
for  a  date  when  I  could  have  an  opportunity  to  talk  with  him  a  very  few 
minutes,  noting  the  fact  that  he  was  busy.  He  wheeled  in  his  chair  and, 
in  effect,  said,  "I  always  will  be  busy.  When  I  first  came  to  Congress, 
I  thought  I  ought  to  know  everything;  after  I  had  been  here  awhile,  I 
found  if  I  knew  two  or  three  things  well  it  was  all  I  could  do.  Now  I 
.am  satisfied  to  know  one  thing  well.  Tell  me  your  story  and  tell  it 
quick."  I  told  him  my  story  in  about  three  minutes,  and  left  him  a 
typewritten  brief  explaining  why  the  Federal  Government  should  co- 
operate with  the  mining  industry,  which  I  asked  him  to  read.  I  said  to 
him:  "My  name  and  telephone  address  are  at  the  bottom  of  this  brief, 
and  if  you  want  further  information,  I  will  be  delighted  to  talk  to  you 
about  it."  I  did  not  expect  to  hear  from  him  again.  Within  a  few 
hours  a  telephone  message  from  him  asked  me  to  call  the  next  morning. 
He  listened  to  my  whole  story  patiently,  and  when  I  had  finished  he 
said:  "You  are  right;  whenever  you  want  my  help,  let  me  know."  Many 
times  that  member  has  been  in  his  seat  ready  to  help  us  in  some  legisla- 
tion in  which  we  were  interested. 

Our  first  appropriation  was  for  $150,000,  "for  conducting  such  in-» 
vestigations  as  would  lead  to  greater  safety  and  efficiency  in  mining  op- 
erations." When  the  bill  carrying  the  appropriation  was  under  consid- 
eration, and  this  item  was  read,  it  carried  the  words,  "In  the  territories 
and  the  District  of  Alaska."  The  chairman  of  the  committee  who  had  it 
in  charge  did  not  realize  that  this  amendment  meant  that  this  money 
could  only  be  spent  in  a  few  localities  in  New  Mexico.  It  happened  that 
at  three  o'clock,  when  this  clause  was  reached,  a  special  matter  had  been 
set  for  consideration,  and  the  action  on  this  item  went  over.  This  gave 
opportunity  for  a  fight,  through  which  the  objectionable  words  in  this 
bill  were  eliminated.  That  was  the  beginning  of  the  work  which  led  to 
the  creation  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines;  that  was  the  first  efficient  movement 
in  the  agitation  which  has  led  to  a  decrease  of  approximately  thirty  pel 
cent  of  the  loss  of  life  in  coal  mining  operations.  We  did  not  do  it,  bul 
we  aroused  public  sentiment  all  over  the  country. 

The  purposes  of  the  Mining  Congress  cannot  well  be  described  ex« 
cept  in  the  general  terms — the  bettering  of  the  conditions  of  the  Alining 
Industry — and  the  work  varies  with  the  force  of  the  efforts  of  others 
who  seek  undue  benefits  at  the  expense  of  the  industry. 

The  great  industry  of  Mining  should  be  represented  by  a  Depart- 
ment of  Mines,  with  a  dozen  bureaus,  each  striving  for  the  benefit  of 
some  particular  branch  of  the  Mining  Industry.  This  will  come  if  we 
stand  together  as  we  ought.  We  need  to  get  rid  of  the  bickerings  and 
jealousies  that  exist  between  one  section  and  another.  Let  us  not 
attempt  to  work  out  the  things  which  neighborhoods  cannot  agree  upon, 
but  let  us  fight  only  for  those  things  upon  which  all  can  agree.  There 
are  enough  important  questions  concerning  which  all  agree  to  keep  us 
pretty  busy  from  this  on.  When  we  have  decided  what  we  want,  let 


6o  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

us  go  to  the  members  of  Congress  with  a  plain  business  statement,  not 
with  the  expectation  of  unduly  influencing  them,  but  simply  pointing 
out  to  them  the  justice  and  importance  of  our  plan.  When  enough 
members  of  Congress  are  ready  to  give  their  support  to  a  movement, 
the  presiding  officer  and  steering  committees  will  have  hard  work  to 
fence  out  the  legislation. 

What  we  need  to  do  is  to  be  in  position  to  present  our  case  to  the 
members  of  Congress  in  such  a  way  that  they  wiU  understand  what  we 
want  and  why  we  want  it.  Convince  them  that  it  is  right  and  there  will 
be  little  trouble  about  legislation  after  that.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  the 
future  we  ought  simply  to  do  what  we  have  tried  to  do  in  a  small 
way,  in  a  much  larger  way.  I  must  confess  to  you  my  utter  inability  to 
keep  in  touch  with  all  the  mining  problems  and  look  after  the  regular 
work  of  the  organization.  The  people  who  organize  best  get  the  best 
results.  Each  special  interest  is  working  for  itself.  Let  us  stand  to- 
gether, not  asking  for  unfair  things,  but  for  those  things  which  are  for 
our  benefit,  and  alike  for  the  benefit  of  every  other  industry  of  these 
United  States.  Each  special  interest  is  working  for  itself.  Let 
us  stand  together,  not  asking  for  unfair  things,  but  for  those  things 
which  are  for  our  benefit,  and  alike  for  the  benefit  of  every  other 
industry  of  these  United  States.  Let  us  first  seek  safety  in  mining 
operations  and  proper  care  for  those  who  are  the  necessary  victims  of 
industrial  accidents.  Let  us  seek  the  highest  efficiency  in  mining  opera- 
tions to  the  end  that  the  consumer  may  have  the  product  at  the  lowest 
possible  price  consistent  with  satisfactory  conditions  and  wages  for 
the  miner  and  a  fair  profit  to  the  producer.  Let  us  stand  for  those 
things,  and  stand  for  them  together.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  would  like  very  much  to  say  something 
on  this  subject  myself,  but  we  have  an  extended  program.  We  will  now 
have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  an  address  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Parker,  of  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  on  "The  Cost  of  Coal  Mining." 

DR.  PARKER:  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Congress: 
Speaking  of  Congressmen,  Mr.  Callbreath  a  few  moments  ago  recalled 
to  my  mind  an  incident  that  occurred  in  Washington.  I  happened  to 
have  luncheon  with  one  yesterday,  and  I  might  say  that  it  was  at  the 
New  Willard,  and  I  might  also  say  that  it  was  at  neither  his  expense 
nor  my  own.  This  Congressman  was  leaving  the  Capitol  for  the  pur- 
pose of  meeting  us  at  luncheon.  As  he  was  walking  to  the  street  car 
he  saw  an  auto  truck  passing  near  by,  on  which  a  part  of  the  freight 
was  a  cow,  and  he  remarked  that  that  is  the  way  it  was  in  Washington- 
cows  rode  in  automobiles  and  the  Congressman  had  either  to  take  a 
street  car  or  walk.  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  Parker's  address  will  be  found  at  page  384  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  subject  of  Mr.  Parker's  address  is  so 
closely  related  to  the  succeeding  address  that  we  will  postpone  its 
discussion  until  we  have  heard  from  Mr.  John  W.  Boileau,  of  Pitts- 
burgh on  What  is  the  Matter  With  the  Coal  Mining  Industry?"  Then 
we  will  discuss  both  papers  together. 

MR  B.  F.  HOFFECKER:  I  will  have  to  make  a  little  correction 
to  the  President  for  presenting  Mr.  Boileau.  This  is  not  Mr.  Boileau, 
but  one  of  his  employes.  I  feel  like  a  little  Daniel  in  a  very  large  den 
?•  iVi?nS'  u  ^as  forced  to  make  that  comparison  by  the  remark  of  Mr. 
Callbreath  He  found  Mr.  Boileau  would  not  be  here  this  morning, 
and  when  I  told  him  I  was  to  read  Mr.  Boileau's  address  he  asked  me 
1  was  ready  to  beard  the  lion  in  his  den.  I  do  not  think  I  will  be 
badly  torn — I  hope  not. 

Mr.  Boileau's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  375  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Gentlemen:  The  subject  of  both  papers  is 
now  open  for  discussion. 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  61 

MR.  A.  J.  MOORSHEAD,  of  St.  Louis:  I  believe  that  I  am 
expected  to  open  the  discussion  on  the  subject  matter  before  this  as- 
sociation. 

I  feel  myself  totally  incompetent  and  unable  to  be  of  any  benefit 
whatever  to  the  industry,  although  I  have  been  connected  with  and 
taken  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  operators  and  their  organizations  and 
also  the  United  Mine  Workers  since  we  became  a  part  of  that  associa- 
tion. (Laughter.)  And  nothing  but  confusion  and  dissatisfaction  has 
prevailed. 

The  last  speaker,  it  seems  to  me,  should  have  been  the  first  on  the 
list,  with  the  subject,  "What  is  the  Matter  With  the  Coal  Industry?" 
Lack  of  organization,  lack  of  co-operation,  and  lack  of  common  inter- 
est— that  is  the  trouble  with  it.  You  gentlemen  who  came  here  and 
were  present  at  the  first  session  must  have  been  distressfully  impressed 
with  the  number  here  when  the  committee  representing  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  made  their  opening  remarks  and  welcomed  us — less  than 
a  hundred.  They  tell  me  there  were  twenty-five  hundred  on  Monday 
night  at  a  prize  fight,  and  we  scarcely  had  fifty  men  at  this  meeting 
on  the  opening  day. 

A  more  discouraging  situation  to  the  President  and  Secretary 
I  never  saw  in  my  life,  and  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  it  is  that  condition 
of  affairs  that  brings  us  into  absolute  contempt  with  the  public,  and  we 
deserve  the  ill  fare  that  we  get,  just  because  we  do  not  pay  attention 
to  matters  that  are  of  vital  importance  to  us.  (Applause.) 

But  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  it?  What  is  it  that  is  the  cause 
of  it?  I  have  had  to  admit,  and  I  still  have  to  feel,  that  selfishness  is 
very  largely  the  cause,  and  it  is  not  only  ruining  those  who,  by  mis- 
fortune, are  put  up  against  matters  that  they  cannot  control,  but  it  is 
going  to  ruin  the  selfish  men  that  promote  or  force  such  a  condition, 
and  ultimately  they  will  have  to  pay  the  same  penalty.  You  cannot, 
through  inactivity  or  any  other  means,  allow  another  man  to  fall  or 
bring  about  a  business  condition  that  will  cause  him  to  fall,  without  at 
the  same  time  falling  into  the  pit  yourself,  and  covering  yourself  with 
the  mire  that  is  created  by  it. 

I  am  sorry  to  feel  the  necessity  of  rebuking  a  class  of  business  men 
engaged  in  the  most  important  industry  in  this  country  in  the  manner 
in  which  I  am  now  doing  it  and  have  had  to  do,  but  it  is  about  time  that 
somebody  said  plainly  what  a  great  many  people  have  been  thinking  for 
a  good  many  years.  (Laughter.) 

You  must  have  been  convinced,  when  you  heard  the  Senators  talk- 
ing yesterday,  that  one  thing  that  troubles  as  much  as  any  other  is  the 
constant  conflict  that  is  going  on  between  the  federal  and  state  govern- 
ments, and  we  are  being  ground  between  those  two  millstones — and  I 
say  that  because  I  know  it.  It  has  been  my  fortune — I  say  fortune  be- 
cause I  have  gotten  considerable  education  out  of  it — to  represent  some 
of  the  operators  before  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  for  a  great  many 
years,  and  I  know  some  of  the  working  methods  of  that  body — or  rather, 
those  two  bodies — and  how  their  work  is  accomplished  and  how  the 
Federation  of  Labor  manage  their  affairs. 

How  have  they  been  doing  it?  They  have  bodies  of  skilled  men 
constantly  present  during  legislative  sessions,  and  they  are  on  the  job 
all  the  time  from  early  morn  until  late  at  night — in  fact,  as  long  as  it 
may  be  necessary  to  accomplish  what  they  want. 

Where  are  the  operators?  They  generally  leave  one  or  two  men  to 
do  the  whole  work  for  them,  with  the  final  result  that  when  the  reports 
come  in  and  they  find  some  additional  legislation  saddled  upon  them 
that  is  going  to  prove  ruinous,  as  they  believe,  they  blame  the  one  man 
who  stayed  faithfully  on  the  job  and  tried  to  do  the  best  he  could. 


^2  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

And  this  fairly  illustrates  the  difference  between  the  interest  shown 
.by  those  representing  labor  and  the  methods  of  those  who  are  in  charge 
•of  important  business  affairs  and  undertakings. 

Now  in  regard  to  legislation;  let  us  see  what  it  does.  And  I  am 
going  to  tell  you  that  I  am  not  a  friend  of  state  rights.  The  State  of 
Illinois  furnishes  perhaps  one  of  the  best  examples  that  I  know  of,  of 
striving  to  regulate  an  industry  in  a  single  state,  and  it  largely  results 
from  what  is  called  advanced  unionism  and  advanced  legislation.  For 
instance,  there  has  been  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  a  Workmen's  Compensation  Act — a  good  measure  if  it  were  a 
.national  one,  but  when  it  is  saddled  upon  one  State  and  not  upon  the 
.neighboring  states,  all  engaged  in  the  same  industry  (say,  coal  mining), 
where  the  product  all  goes  to  the  same  common  market,  is  of  the  same 
grade,  and  has  the  same  mining  and  freight  rates,  there  is  a  burden 
that  one  State  must  carry  which  the  others  do  not  have  to  suffer  at  all. 
Furthermore,  we  have  in  our  State  another  good  law  if  it  were  a 
national  one,  and  that  is  that  all  mine  buildings  shall  be  of  fireproof 
construction — stone,  brick,  rock,  etc. — and  that  the  shafts  shall  be  con- 
creted. There  is  not  a  man  engaged  in  >mining  but  would  admit  that 
he  would  rest  a  great  deal  easier  on  his  pillow  at  night  if  by  the  proper 
kind  of  legislation  all  operators  were  compelled  to  so  construct  their 
properties  and  were  so  regulated  in  all  States  alike  that  in  the  operation 
of  the  mines  they  would  be  as  safe  as  it  would  be  possible  for  mortal 
-man  to  make  them. 

We  only  object  when  such  things  are  saddled  on  one  State  alone 
and  not  another.  There  is  the  trouble.  And  we  have  the  lesson  again 
of  the  lack  of  co-operation;  one  State  does  not,  in  the  matter  of  legis- 
lation, care  a  continental  about  the  others.  It  seems  to  be  a  question 
•of  satisfying  the  interest  that  brings  the  votes  to  them  and  how  aggres- 
sive those  people  may  be  in  demanding  legislation.  Some  of  the  Legis- 
lators even  boast  of  the  fact  that  they  have  had  a  thousand  bills  to  con- 
sider and  that  they  only  passed  three  hundred.  And  that  condition 
of  affairs  goes  on  every  two  years  regularly  until  the  special  laws — 
special  enactments — are  so  great  in  number  that  no  lawyer  in  the  State 
can  be  expected  to  know  what  there  is  on  the  books,  except  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  and  no  lawyer  in  one  State  pretends  to  know  anything  at  all 
about  the  laws  in  the  other  States,  except  the  common  law;  and  there 
is  your  confusion  right  there. 

So  far  as  I  know,  no  attempt  has  been  made  by  the  Legislators  of 
the  various  States  to  get  together  and  pass  common  laws  for  the  samo 
industries  for  the  general  good  of  all.  No,  they  don't  think  of  it. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  a  most  important 
measure  came  up,  and  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  show  how  it  would 
afreet  the  coal  mining  industry.  It  was  known  as  the  full  crew  bill — a 
railroad  measure  intended  to  regulate  the  size  of  trains.  The  bill  pro- 
vided for  a  crew  of  six  men — engineer,  fireman,  conductor  and  three 
brakemen.  This  was  considered  a  full  crew,  and  a  crew  of  that  size 
could  take  out  more  than  fifty  cars,  empty  or  loaded;  but  if  perchance, 
through  payday  fever  or  some  other  cause,  a  brake-man  did  not  show  up 
for  duty,  a  train  of  seventy-five  cars  that  were  to  go  to  take  care  of 
two  mines  would  .have  to  be  cut  down  from  seventy-five  to  fifty,  and 
the  miners  who  went  to  work  in  the  morning  on  the  statement  that  there 
would  be  plenty  of  cars  at  the  mine  would  be  disappointed.  One  mine 
could  not  work,  simply  because  one  brakeman  did  not  report  for  duty. 
1  said  to  the  committee  that  we  were  more  interested  in  that  bill  than 
the  industries  put  together  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  further 
hem  that  we  moved  in  railroad  cars  in  the  last  fiscal  year 
fifty-three  million  tons  of  coal— we  mined  more  than  that,  but  that  is 
what  we  put  into  the  cars.  I  stated  to  them  that  it  required  thirty-seven 
thousand  trains  to  handle  the  product,  fifteen  thousand  trains  of  which 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  6$ 

were  necessary  to  move  the  empties  and  twenty-two  thousand  to  move 
the  loads — that  we  did  our  business  by  the  train  load — not  like  'other 
shippers,  the  general  run  of  whom  handle  a  car  or  two  at  a  time — that 
with  us  the  cars  had  to  come  in  sufficient  quantities  for  a  full  day's 
work;  otherwise,  under  the  resolutions  of  most  of  the  local  union  bodies 
in  Illinois  that  if  a  certain  number  of  empties  are  not  on  the  tracks  ins 
the  morning  the  mine  could  not  operate,  we  would  lose  that  day's  work. 

I  furthermore  stated  to  them  that  they  undoubtedly  did  not  know, 
and  perhaps  had  never  taken  the  pains  to  find  out,  what  the  industry- 
meant  to  the  State,  and  what  a  wonderful  asset  it  is  to  the  State; 
that  the  cars  required  to  handle  our  output  would,  if  coupled  together, 
reach  more  than  one-third  of  the  way  around  the  earth;  in  other 
words,  when  coupled  together,  would  stretch  eighty-five  thousand  miles,, 
but  to  better  describe  it,  they  would  stretch  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco  and  back  again,  and  there  would  still  be  enough  left  over  to- 
make  a  train  of  cars  that  would  reach  from  Omaha,  Nebraska,  to  Chi- 
cago, and  from  there  to  New  Orleans;  that,  as  wonderfully  great  as  our 
industry  is  and  as  necessary  as  it  is  for  the  welfare  of  the  State,  I  was. 
not  making  an  exaggerated  statement  when  I  said  that  coal  mining  as 
a  whole  in  Illinois  is  insolvent — bankrupt.  It  is  true  that  there  are  a 
few  companies  here  and  there  that  are  enjoying  some  local  conditions 
or  special  grades  of  coal  that  are  doing  very  well,  but  as  a  whole  it  is 
bankrupt,  and  I  told  them  they  could  easily  verify  what  I  s?id  by 
going  to  the  banks  in  the  city  of  Chicago  or  in  Springfield  or  down 
through  the  coal  fields,  and  that  at  all  those  places  they  would  find  thf 
banks  loaded  up  with  the  worthless  securities  of  coal  mining  companies 

Of  course,  they  wanted  to  know  what  the  causes  were,  and  they  are 
largely  political.  If  you  will  take  our  industry,  you  will  find  that  no- 
move  can  be  made  by  an  operator  seeking  to  organize  or  form  a  com- 
bination or  trust  without  his  being  assailed  by  press  and  public  alike — 
and  naturally,  too,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  the  foundation  for  the  wel- 
fare of  all  commerce.  Without  it  there  would  be  none.  It  has  made 
this  great  country.  The  business  men  naturally  watch  it  jealously;  and 
it  requires  just  as  many  heat  units  to  keep  life  in  the  bodies  of  the 
poor  as  in  those  of  the  rich.  All  must  use  it  in  some  manner,  and  con- 
sequently the  whole  public  is  so  interested  that  they  are  continually 
talking  and  writing  about  it,  and  they  watch  it  with  a  jealous  eye. 

What  about  other  industries?  They  have  seemingly  fattened  under 
the  Sherman  Act — grown  up  like  mushrooms;  but  with  the  coal  com- 
panies it  makes  no  difference  whether  it  is  in  the  purchase  of  raw 
material  or  manufactured  articles,  we  must  pay  combination  prices  for 
the  more  important  things  at  least. 

On  the  other  hand,  labor  is  a  trust,  and  in  our  State  it  is  recognized 
as  a  lawful  one,  and  the  statutes  specially  protect  labor  from  prosecu- 
tion under  the  anti-trust  laws. 

We  would  have  no  objection  to  all  these  things  if  we  were  per- 
mitted to  do  as  others  are  allowed  to  do,  but  we  are  ground  between 
the  combinations  of  industry  on  the  one  side  and  the  combination  of 
labor  on  the  other,  with  our  own  interests  denied  the  same  privilege  of 
combining  to  benefit  themselves. 

There  is  the  trouble  with  your  state  rights.  What  we  do  need  is  a 
common  law  to  govern  us  all  alike.  If  we  could  have  that,  we  would 
be  better  off,  in  my  opinion.  The  Federal  Government,  if  it  could  have- 
charge  of  the  entire  mining  industry,  with  laws  for  all  alike,  governing 
the  construction  and  the  operation  of  mines  on  lines  of  safety,  going 
even  to  a  greater  extreme  than  Illinois,  would  solve  the  problem  that 
apparently  cannot  be  solved  in  any  other  way.  It  would  do  away  with 
the  under-capitalized  companies  with  incompetent  organizations,  %ho 
construct  and  equip  too  cheaply  for  safety,  and  operate  without  a  view 
to  conservation  in  any  sense.  There  are  many  such  low  tonnage  prop- 


64  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

erties  in  Illinois,  and  they  set  the  pace  and  make  the  prices;  too  often 
at  ruinous  figures. 

My  idea  of  Federal  Government  control  is  that  all  should  be  com- 
pelled to  construct  and  operate  properly  and  safely.  It  would  dignify 
the  industry,  and  the  small  operator  could  then,  if  he  desired  to  go  into 
the  coal  business,  invest  his  money  in  the  securities  of  good,  sub- 
stantial properties,  and  it  would  give  him  a  better  guarantee  than  he 
now  has,  and,  what  is  more,  when  that  state  of  affairs  came  about,  we 
would  find  ourselves  working  with  a  more  skillhri  and  intelligent  class 
of  people;  and  such  interests  would  find  a  way  to  co-operate  together. 
As  it  is,  co-operation  seems  impossible. 

In  our  strike  troubles  of  1910,  while  we  were  facing  the  United 
Mine  Workers  at  the  front  door,  many  of  the  small  companies,  so  to 
speak,  were  running  out  at  the  back  door.  That  is  our  trouble  exactly. 
I  do  not  know  how  we  are  going  to  remedy  it  and  do  not  know  how  we 
are  g9ing  to  bring  about  federal  control,  except  through  an  organiza- 
tion like  this.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  the  right  spirit  prevailed — if  we 
were  really  in  earnest  and  got  together  with  the  avowed  intention  of 
doing  something,  we  could  at  least  help  ourselves  more  than  we  have 
been  doing  in  the  past. 

We  could  perhaps  find  a  way  to  bring  about  a  commission  that 
would  help  the  States  enact  more  uniform  laws,  especially  when  affect- 
ing such  an  industry  as  mining.  All  bills  presented  by  the  United  Mine 
Workers  should  be  submitted  for  enactment  to  all  legislative  bodies  at 
the  same  time,  and  it  would  be  better  if  the  bills  were  jointly  agreed  to 
by  employe  and  employer  before  being  presented  for  enactment.  This, 
I  believe,  under  properly  organized  methods,  could  be  easily  brought 
about;  but  the  way  we  are  going  on  now,  some  States  have  little  or  no 
legislation  to  govern  them  in  mining,  while  others  are  saddled  so 
heavily  that  they  are  brought  to  insolvency,  which,  as  I  said  before,  is 
the  case  in  Illinois. 

We  find  the  same  lack  of  co-operatio*n  and  organization  in  the 
United  Mine  Workers'  ranks.  Their  aggressive  organization  in  our 
State  has  loaded  the  mining  companies  to  death  with  mining  rates  and 
conditions  that  the  operators  of  that  State  would  not  complain  of  if  they 
were  borne  by  all  alike.  And  so  that  organization,  like  ours,  drifts 
on  to  the  point  of  least  resistance,  and  we  all  seem  to  drift  on,  each 
one  independent  of  and  indifferent  to  the  conditions  existing  in  other  dis- 
tricts and  States,  so  long  as  they  are  less  favorable  than  our  own. 
Until  such  time  as  we  can  learn  to  give  as  well  as  take  and  be  willing 
to  work  on  lines  of  reasonable  equality,  we  must  expect  to  drift  on  from 
bad  to  worse,  and  that  is  why  the  industry  and  its  organizations  are  so 
completely  demoralized. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  statement  is  true  or  not,  but  have  been 
told  that  the  Secretary  of  this  Congress  has  had  to  advance  this  or- 
ganization $3,500.00  of  his  own  money  to  discharge  its  obligations.  Is 
that  right,  Mr.  Callbreath? 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  You  refer  to  the  probable  deficit  on 
account  of  the  mining  show.  I  hope  it  won't  be  quite  so  bad  as  that. 

MR.  A  J.  MOORSHEAD:  Well,  do  you  have  to  advance  any 
money  at  all? 

MR.  CALLBREATH:  With  reference  to  the  $3.500.00  referred  to, 
t  is  a  question  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  Mining  Show.  At  present  it 
looks  like  a  loss  to  us. 

MR.  MOORSHEAD:  In  other  words,  he  has  to  run  a  side-show 
here  to  keep  this  organization  alive.  What  do  you  think  of  that? 
(Applause.)  What  can  we  expect  to  gain— what  can  we  expect  to 
secure  when  we  show  so  little  interest?  But  few  of  the  operators  seem 
to  take  it  seriously;  and  I  say  that  in  a  comparative  sense  Do  you 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  65 

suppose  that  the  gentlemen  representing  the  Mayor,  and  others  who 
came  to  bid  us  welcome  took  us  seriously?  And  could  they  be  expected 
to  do  so  when  there  were  not  more  than  about  a  hundred  members 
present?  I  told  Mr.  Callbreath  that  if  I  had  been  the  Secretary  or  the 
unfortunate  President  of  this  body,  I  would  have  told  them  a  story  that 
I  believe  would  have  been  apropos  and  sunk  into  their  hearts  pretty 
well,  but  I  cannot  give  it  to  you  now. 

A  DELEGATE:     Give  it  to  us  anyhow. 

CHORUS  OF  VOICES:     Story! 

MR.  MOORSHEAD:  It  is  probably  an  unusual  thing  for  me  to 
come  here  and  bring  out  points  of  this  kind  during  the  discussions  of 
technical  matters  which  have  been  read  before  this  body,  and  such  as 
Mr.  Parker,  the  Statistician,  has  given  to  us.  We  know  that  in  our 
accounting  system  there  is  no  regularity  or  fixed  way  of  doing  things^ 
and  so  it  goes  down  all  along  the  line  of  our  work,  and  even  to  this 
Congress  here;  we  drift  and  we  do  not  do  things  as  we  should.  We 
come  here  and  we  talk  about  them.  We  are  like  a  certain  party 
who  went  to  confession;  he  told  the  same  old  story  every  time 
until  the  good  father  said  to  him,  "My  dear  man,  you  have  been  coming 
here  relating  this  story  so  long  that  I  should  think  you  would  get  tired 
of  it.  Didn't  you  do  penance  when  you  committed  the  crime?"  He 
said  he  did.  "Well,  what  are  you  bringing  it  up  for  here  again";  and 
the  man  answered,  "I  just  like  to  talk  about  it."  (Laughter.) 

That  is  it  exactly — we  just  like  to  talk  about  it — and  I  have  begun 
to  think  that  a  great  many  have  come  here  for  that  purpose  only.  It  is 
about  time  we  changed  our  habits,  and  I  have  concluded,  myself,  that 
until  we  can  have  a  better  and  more  enthusiastic  organization,  we  are 
largely  in  the  position  of  a  farmer  who  went  to  market  a  calf.  He  got 
up  at  sunrise,  giving  himself  plenty  of  time  to  go  to  the  little  station 
from  which  he  was  going  to  ship  the  calf,  and  which  was  only  about 
three  miles  from  his  farm,  but  when  he  got  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  where 
he  could  see  the  depot,  he  had  traveled  ten.  He  looked  at  the  calf  and 
wondered  whether  the  calf  felt  as  tired  as  he  did.  As  the  train  was 
nearly  due  and  he  wanted  to  land  the  calf  on  the  platform  in  good 
shape,  he  concluded  to  grasp  it  by  the  tail,  and  as  soon  as  he  did,  the 
calf  jumped  into  the  air  and  then  went  down  the  hill  at  full  gallop.  The 
old  farmer  was  taking  strides  twenty  feet  long,  and  those  at  the  road- 
side who  saw  them  coming  cried  out  to  the  farmer,  "Let  go,  you  old 
fool;  you  can't  stop  that  calf."  The  old  farmer,  still  clutching  the  calf's 
tail  witrj  a  death  grip,  cried  out,  "No;  I  know  I  can't,  but  if  I  can  hang 
on,  maybe  I  can  steer  him  a  little."  (Laughter.) 

I  have  got  to  the  point  now,  where  all  I  am  able  to  do  is  to  try  to 
steer  you  a  little.  (Laughter.)  And  this  talk  of  mine  (perhaps  not  quite 
to  your  liking),  is  given  with  the  thought  in  mind  of  trying  to  steer 
ourselves  in  the  direction  of  a  better  and  more  enthusiastic  organization, 
with  ample  working  fund  and  strong  membership,  that  will  do  sub- 
stantial things  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  mining  industry  of  the 
country.  What  we  do  want  are  results,  and  to  permit  nothing  to  inter- 
fere with  us  in  carrying  them  out. 

When  it  comes  to  co-operation,  the  principles  we  apply  at  home 
in  our  own  business  affairs  we  do  not  seem  to  bring  and  apply  here. 

I  said  in  Chicago,  at  one  meeting  of  the  Mining  Congress,  that  I 
knew  of  no  better  means  by  which  the  industry  could  lift  itself  up  out 
of  the  mire  to  the  dignified  standing  it  deserves  than  through  the 
American  Mining  Congress — something  that  would  bring  us  together 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  a  place  where  we  could  concentrate  our 
thoughts  and  efforts,  and  accomplish,  through  legislation  and  other 
means  that  might  be  necessary,  some  good  for  all.  I  thank  you,  gentle- 
men. (Applause.) 


456  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Before  the  discussion  becomes  too  general,  we 
would  like  to  hear  from  Mr.  Carl  Scholz,  of  Chicago. 

MR.  SCHOLZ:  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen:  I  scarcely  think  it 
is  fair  to  have  me  succeed  Mr.  Moorshead  in  this  discussion,  not  only 
because  he  is  an  able  orator,  but  he  comes  from  my  State,  and  has 
practically  told  my  story.  There  is  very  little  which  I  can  add. 

The  coal  mining  industry  reminds  me  pf  a  fable  which  I  heard  when 
quite  a  young  boy,  about  a  father  and  his  seven  sons.  He  called  them 
while  on  his  deathbed  and  presented  them  with  a  bundle  of  seven 
,sticks,  and  asked  each  to  try  and  break  the  bundle,  in  which  none  suc- 
ceeded; thereupon  he  cut  the  string  and  handed  each  son  one  stick,  who 
broke  it  very  readily.  This  same  moral  applies  to  the  mining  industry. 
Individually,  we  are  not  very  strong,  and  only  by  combined  efforts  can 
we  hope  to  resist  the  force  of  attacks  made  on  us  from  every  side. 
While  each  mine  owner  must  do  his  share  for  any  improvement  in  our 
industrial  situation,  his  influence  can  only  be  felt  when  the  results  are 
iitilized  by  a  large  organization.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  impressive 
lessons  which  I  now  recall  was  my  first  attendance  at  a  wage  meeting 
-at  Indianapolis  some  ten  years  ago.  The  largest  meeting  hall  in  town 
was  packed  from  the  stage  to  the  gallery,  and  with  chairs  in  the  aisles; 
on  one  side  were  the  miners,  and  the  other  side  their  employers.  There 
were  miners  from  every  coal  mining  district  in  the  United  States, 
whether  or  not  their  contracts  had  expired,  or  even  where  they  had  no 
-organization.  iThey  were  there  to  learn  how  they  could  benefit  their 
-cause,  and  by  their  presence  lend  strength  to  the  body  asking  for  a 
new  wage  contract.  The  operators  from  the  affected  districts  were  there 
in  full  force,  with  a  large  number  of  officials  and  advisers.  When  I 
look  over  the  small  attendance  at  the  session  of  this  Mining  Congress, 
I  am,  indeed,  disappointed,  and  feel  sorry  for  the  officers  who  have  made 
-such  strenous  efforts  to  have  a  full  representation.  The  only  excuse  for 
this  small  attendance  must  be  due  to  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  work 
which  can  be  accomplished  through  the  American  Mining  Congress, 
because  the  work  is  certainly  of  as  much  importance  as  wage  confer- 
ences, ^and  we  should  have  men  here  who  have  no  contracts  with  the 
.miners'  organization;  therefore,  our  attendance  should  be  much  larger 
than  that  of  the  wage  conferences,  which  usually  extend  over  several 
weeks.  There  are  many  other  meetings  throughout  the  year  which  are 
regularly  and  well  attended,  and  it  seems  to  me  it  is  just  as  vital  that 
we  should  give  time  and  attention  to  the  matters  which  pertain  to  our 
revenue,  as  it  is  to  guard  against  increase  in  expenses. 

Mr.  Moorshead  has  dwelt  at  length  on  the  subject  of  co-operation 
and  the  necessity  to  look  after  legislative  matters  in  States  in  which 
we  operate.  I  have  found  that  when  the  miners  gain  a  point  in  one 
State,  either  in  a  wage  agreement,  employment  conditions,  or  by  legis- 
lative ^measures,  the  same  question  is  soon  raised  in  all  other  States  who 
haven  t  that  particular  advantage.  This  is  due  to  their  central  organiza- 
tion through  which  this  information  is  distributed,  and  where  notes  are 
compared  as  to  the  relative  advantages  which  one  State  has  over  the 
TS.  With  the  operators  this  condition  does  not  exist,  unless  where, 
perhaps,  one  manager  is  in  charge  of  property  in  various  States,  but 
even  then  the  work  is  not  thorough,  and  depends  more  upon  the  indi- 
viduality of  the  operator  involved.  There  is  no  system  or  concerted 
•efforts. 

While  State  legislation  is  of  importance  in  operating  matters,  Na- 
tional legislation  has  much  bearing  upon  the  commercial  side  of  the 
industry,  and  in  this  respect  we  are  entirely  lacking.  What  we  need 
-and  must  have  is  a  competent  regular  attendant  in  Washington  to  look 
after  all  the  measures  affecting  our  industry  as  they  come  up  In  this 
respect  the  miners  are  again  better  situated  than  we  are  because  they 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  67- 

have  a  full  representation  who  carefully  looks  after  their  interest,  and 
obnoxious  measures  which  may  come  up  at  times  are  soon  killed  on. 
the  floor  or  in  the  committee  rooms.  Through  the  Federation  of  Labor 
the  miners'  organization  is  able  to  enlist  other  labor  organizations  in. 
the  support  of  any  measures  which  they  do  not  care  to  have  passed. 

From  my  conversation  with  coal  operators  I  judge  that  not  every 
one  is  well  posted  on  the  purposes  of  the  Mining  Congress,  and  for  my 
part  I  well  recall  the  disappointment  which  1  felt  at  the  session  of 
1909,  in  Pittsburgh,  when  Mr.  John  Mitchell,  who  .was  then  at  the- 
zenith  of  his  power,  made  an  address  which  was  very  popular  with  the 
newspapers  and  received  wide  publication. 

'The  real  work  of  the  Congress  was  mentioned  very  briefly,  and  the 
whole  meeting,  according  to  the  press,  had  more  the  aspect  of  a  labor 
conference  than  anything  else.  I  well  realize  that  some  of  our  subjects, 
may  not  be  popular  with  the  press,  judging  from  the  rather  limited 
amount  of  notices  which  has  been  given  this  present  session,  but  I  feel, 
that  if  our  aims  were  better  understood,  publicity  and  support  would 
be  coming  forward  more  readily. 

Nearly  every  Coal  Company  contributes  a  considerable  sum  annually 
for  the  negotiation  of  wage  contracts  and  State  legislative  matters.  The 
amount  required  from  each  operator  for  the  support  of  a  legislative- 
representative  in  Washington  would  be  very  much  smaller  than  the 
money  now  paid  for  State  representation.  Within  the  last  few  years 
mine  run  bills  were  passed  in  Arkansas  and  Oklahoma  which  have 
nearly  ruined  the  industry,  and  efforts  to  have  these  bills  repealed  met 
absolute  defeat,  because  the  public  did  not  know  the  import  of  the 
subject.  Our  only  friend  at  court  has  been  Mr.  E.  W.  Parker,  of  Wash- 
ington, who  has  called  attention  to  the  injury  done  the  industry  in  his- 
annual  reports,  but  since  these  reports  are  only  read  by  coal  operators,  it 
has  not  helped  the  cause  very  much  thus  far.  Similar  bills  are  now 
pending  in  other  States,  and  the  precedent  established  by  Oklahoma  and 
Arkansas  will  help  to  have  the  legislation  passed  in  other  States. 

Earlier  in  the  session  today  reference  was  made  to  the  lack  of 
knowledge  as  to  the  cost  of  production  of  certain  sizes  of  anthracite- 
coal;  the  same  condition  exists  in  the  bituminous  industry.  Newspapers 
are  clamoring  about  the  high  cost  of  lump  coal,  little  realizing  that 
slack  coal  is  sold  for  less  than  the  mining  rate,  and  that  the  other 
expenses  for  day  labor,  material,  etc.,  must  be  borne  by  the  small 
amount  of  lump  coal  obtained.  In  one  case  where  I  invited  a  newspaper 
representative  to  visit  the  mining  district  and  look  over  our  books,  with 
the  view  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  the  investigator  interviewed  a  few 
miners  as  they  were  coming  from  work,  and  made  his  conclusions  upon 
their  statements.  All  of  this  leads  me  to  believe  that  the  compilation  of" 
authentic  and  indisputable  data  is  one  of  the  essential  matters  which 
this  Congress  must  undertake  before  it  can  expect  much  benefit  for  the 
mining  industry. 

The  address  which  Mr.  Parker  delivered  this  morning  is  the  first 
information  as  to  the  status  of  the  bituminous  coal  industry  yet  pre- 
sented. While  many  of  us  have  read  the  publications  of  the  Census. 
Bureau,  reference  to  the  mining  industry  is  only  a  very  small  part 
compared  with  a  vast  number  of  subjects  treated  more  fully,  and  isr 
therefore,  entirely  lost  sight  of.  I  am  of  the  opinion,  notwithstanding 
all  statements  to  the  contrary,  that  the  accounting  methods  established' 
by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  for  our  railways  have  been  of 
great  benefit  to  the  honest  railway  owners  and  operators,  because  by 
these  methods  the  true  conditions  of  the  property  are  shown,  and' 
charges  are  made  where  they  properly  belong.  I  believe  a  similar  method 
applied  to  the  mining  industry  would  necessarily  be  followed  by  goocE 
results. 


68  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

In  the  bargaining  for  our  wage  contracts  in  the  organized  States 
we  are  a  fairly  consolidated  body,  confronting  an  even  stronger  and 
better  organized  force.  In  the  sale  of  our  product  we  go  out  singly 
and  alone,  trying  to  get  business  at  any  price,  irrespective  of  cost,  always 
hoping  for  the  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  with  ourselves  in  the  front  row. 
This  is  not  a  healthy  condition,  and  our  success  as  operators  should 
not  depend  upon  the  failure  or  misfortune  of  our  neighbors.  Car  short- 
ages, blizzards,  strikes,  disasters,  or  similar  misfortunes,  should  not  be 
the  cause  for  undue  advances  in  the  selling  price  of  the  coal.  Regular 
operation,  even  with  reduced  forces,  is  more  economical  than  spurts,  as 
we  now  experience. 

Under  the  laws,  as  now  existing,  the  simple  exchange  of  correspond- 
ence pertaining  to  coal  prices  can  bring  the  writer  within  the  hands 
of  the  law;  at  the  same  time,  other  producers  avail  themselves  of  every 
means  to  obtain  the  best  prices  for  their  products.  In  this  respect  we 
have  much  to  learn  from  the  farmers,  who  by  means  of  the  telephone 
and  newspaper  quotations  have  been  able  to  increase  the  price  of  their 
product  to  a  profitable  basis;  yet  we  hear  much  about  the  oppressed 
farmers  and  the  rich  coal  barons,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  situation 
is  quite  the  reverse. 

I  would  very  much  dislike  to  leave  this  Congress  without  feeling 
that  at  least  a  few  delegates  have  become  converted  to  our  cause,  and 
that  they,  in  turn,  upon  reporting  to  their  home  bodies  will  be  able  to 
enlist  the  interest  of  others  who  have  not  been  able  to  attend  this 
session.  I  would  ask  that  each  delegate  here  will  aim  to  secure  new 
members  whose  support,  both  moral  and  financial,  is  greatly  needed, 
and  I  am  sure  the  investment  will  prove  of  mutual  advantage.  I  thank 
you. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Gentlemen,  I  dislike  very  much  to  curtail 
this  most  important  and  interesting  discussion,  but  it  is  now  half-past 
twelve,  and  we  still  have  to  hear  from  Mr.  C.  M.  Moderwell,  of  Chicago, 
of  the  Committee  on  Coal  Mining  Legislation. 

MR.  MODERWELL:  The  Committee  on  Coal  Mining  Legisla- 
tion has  a  very  brief  report  to  make.  The  effort  of  the  committee  has 
been  along  the  line  of  the  discussion  this  morning.  Believing,  as  the 
past  two  speakers  have  indicated,  that  one  method  of  relief  from  the 
evils,  as  indicated  by  these  two  speakers,  would  be  the  permission  to  do 
what  other  people  do  without  permission.  We  have  bent  our  efforts  to 
the  framing  of  a  bill  for  an  Interstate  Trade  Commission,  and  which,  in 
effect,  is  a  modification  of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law.  That  bill 
speaks  for  itself,  and  will  be  attached  to  our  report.  I  can  only  say 
briefly  that  it  provides  for  a  trade  commission,  which  in  some  respects 
is  similar  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and  which  would 
permit  of  co-operation  under  government  regulation.  The  bill  itself  is 
in  print  and  will,  upon  request,  be  sent  to  you  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Congress.  I  speak  for  it  your  earnest  study  and  your  co-operation  I 
would  like  to  say  in  this  connection  that  some  of  us  have  felt,  and  'ex- 
pression has  been  given  to  that  feeling  on  this  floor,  that  the  gentlemen 
who  are  in  Congress,  generally  called  "politicians"  by  those  who  are 
not  in  Congress,  are  more  or  less  responsible  for  this  state  of  affairs  I 
want  to  say  that  is  not  a  fact,  but  that  the  gentlemen  who  sit  on  this 
floor  and  those  we  represent  are  the  men  who  are  responsible.  Public 
opinion  is  the  only  court  from  which  politicians  take  their  orders,  and  it 
is  up  to  this  body  and  the  people  in  this  industry  to  create  the  public 
opinion  which  will  command  the  necessary  legislative  support.  (Ap- 


A  great  industry  like  ours  must  have  publicity,  and  when  the  public 
fully  understands  the  real  condition  of  the  coal  mining  industry,  the  gen- 
tlemen who  are  sitting  in  the  state  legislatures  and  the  gentlemen  in 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  69 

Washington  will  obey  the  orders  of  the  court  of  public  opinion.     (Ap- 
plause.) 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Coal  Mining  Legislation 

The  work  of  the  committee  during  the  past  year  has  been  directed 
toward  influencing  public  opinion  and  securing  legislation  by  Congress 
which  will  permit  some  modification  of  the  "Anti-Trust"  law.  This  has 
resulted  in  the  preparation  of  a  bill  for  the  creation  of  an  interstate 
trade  commission.  Copy  of  this  bill  is  herewith  attached  and  consti- 
tutes the  report  of  the  committee,  which  is  submitted  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  American  Mining  Congress. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

C.  M.  MODERWELL, 

For  the  Committee. 

Draft  of  a  Bill  for  the  Creation  of  an  Interstate  Trade  Commission 

A.     BILL. 

Be  it  enacted  ~by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  a  commission  be,  and  is  hereby, 
created  and  established  to  be  known  as  the  Interstate  Trade  Commission,  which 
shall  be  composed  of  five  commissioners,  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate:  Provided,  That  not  more  than 
three  commissioners  shall  be  appointed  from  the  same  political  party. 

SEC.  2.    That  the   commissioners   first  appointed   under  this   Act   shall   continue 
in   office  for  four,   five,   six,   seven,   and   eight  years,    respectively,   from   the 
day  of  ,  nineteen   hundred  and  twelve,   the  term   of  each  to  be  des- 

ignated  by    the    President,    and    on    the    expiration    of    the   term    of    each   his    suc- 
cessor shall  be  appointed  for  the  term  of  six  years. 

SEC.  3.  That  any  commissioner  shall  be  removed  by  the  President  for  in- 
efficiency, neglect  of  duty,  or  malfeasance  in  office,  and  shall  be  removed  for 
acting  in  any  matter  in  which  he  is  personally  or  financially  interested.  But 
no  vacancy  in  the  commission  shall  impair  the  right  of  the  remaining  com- 
missioners, if  not  less  than  three  in  number,  to  exercise  the  powers  of  the 
commission. 

SEC.  4.  That  each  commissioner  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  payable  in  the  same  manner  as  the  salaries  of  the  judges  of  the  courts 
of  the  United  States  are  paid.  The  commission  shall  appoint  a  secretary  or 
clerk,  who  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  dollars, 
payable  in  like  manner,  and  the  commission  shall  have  authority  to  employ  and 
fix  by  order  of  record  the  compensation  of  such  other  employees  as  it  may  find 
necessary  to  the  proper  performance  of  its  duties.  The  expenses  of  the  commission, 
including  all  necessary  expenses  for  transportation  and  travel  incurred  by  the 
commissioners,  or  by  their  employees  under  their  orders,  in  making  any  investiga- 
tion in  any  other  place  than  in  the  city  of  Washington,  shall  be  allowed  and  paid 
upon  the  presentation  of  itemized  vouchers  therefor,  approved  by  the  chairman 
of  the  commission  or.  in  his  absence,  upon  the  approval  of  any  one  of  the  com- 
missioners. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  commission  hereby  created  may  conduct  its  proceedings 
in  such  manner  as  will  conduce  to  the  proper  dispatch  of  business  and  to  the 
ends  of  justice.  A  majority  of  the  commission  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for 
the  transaction  of  business,  but  no  commissioner  shall  participate  in  any  hearing 
or  proceeding  in  which  he  has  any  pecuniary  interest.  The  commission  may,  from 
time  to  time,  make  or  amend  such  general  rules  or  orders  as  may  be  requisite 
for  the  order  and  regulation  of  proceedings  before  it,  including  forms  of  notices 
and  the  services  thereof,  which  shall  conform  as  nearly  as  practicable  to  those 
in  use  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

The  chairman  of  the  commission  shall  be  selected  by  the  members  thereof, 
and  shall  hold  such  office  for  the  period  of  one  year  from  the  date  of  such 
selection:  Provided.  That  no  commissioner  shall  be  eligible  for  designation  as 
chairman  in  consecutive  years.  Each  commissioner  during  the  time  he  shall  serve 
as  chairman  of  the  commission  shall  receive  an  additional  annual  compensation 
of  five  hundred  dollars,  which  shall  be  payable  in  like  manner  as  the  salaries 
hereinbefore  provided  for. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  commission  shall  sit  as  a  body  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  every 
month,  and  shall  continue  in  session  for  at  least  one  day,  and  otherwise  may 
convene  and  adjourn  at  the  call  of  the  chairman  or  presiding  commissioner  or 
on  the  written  request  of  at  least  three  commissioners:  Provided,  That  the  com- 
mission shall  not  be  legally  required  to  meet  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  the  months  of 
July,  August,  and  September,  but  may  meet  at  any  time  as  otherwise  herein  pro- 
vided. 


70  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

SEC.  7.  That  the  commission  may  sit  as  a  court  and  its  hearings  may  be 
had  in  the  nature  of  court  proceedings,  in  which  parties  and  applicants  may  be 
heard  by  counsel  or  in  person,  and  it  shall  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  such 
proceedings  generally;  it  shall  cause  records  of  its  proceedings  to  be  properly 
kept;  and  it  shall  have  power  to  issue  summons  under  seal  compelling  the  at- 
tendance of  the  parties,  and  may  subpoena  witnesses  and  compel  their  attendance,. 
and  all  such  witnesses  shall  be  paid  their  per  diem  and  mileage  as  witnesses- 
in  attendance  on  the  courts  of  the  United  States.  The  commission  may  require 
witnesses  to  testify  under  oath,  and  may  require  the  submission  of  statements- 
and  reports  under  oath  relating  to  transactions  or  matters  coming  before  it. 
Each  commissioner  and  the  secretary  or  clerk  of  the  commission  shall  have  the- 
power  to  administer  oaths  with  reference  to  all  transactions  or  r»atters  coming 
before  the  commission  or  in  relation  to  its  business.  Provided^  That  the  com- 
mission may,  in  its  discretion,  where  the  necessities  of  th«r  case  or  the  public 
good  require  it,  hold  informal  or  executive  meetings,  ajaG  upon  the  application* 
or  request  of  any  person,  party  or  corporation,  and  in  »Qch  case  may  so  order  its^- 
record,  or  make  or  issue  its  certificate  or  approval  fn  such  manner  as  will  not 
make  public  any  information  voluntarily  confided  of  submitted  to  the  commission. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  commission  shall  have  a  teal  under  which  its  writs  shall: 
be  issued  and  of  which  judicial  notice  shaUr  be  taken,  a  description  of  which 
shall  be  duly  entered  of  record  at  the  organization  of  the  commission. 

SEC.  9.  That  the  principal  office  of  fne  commission  shall  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  where  its  general  session^  and  sittings  shall  be  held,  but  whenever 
the  convenience  of  the  public  or  o4  the  parties  or  of  the  witnesses  may  be 
promoted,  or  delay  or  expense  p/evented  thereby,  the  commission  may  hold 
special  sessions  in  any  part  of  fne  United  States,  but  its  findings  and  deter- 
minations shall  be  entered  of  record,  if  the  same  are  to  be  recorded,  at  its  principal 
office  in  the  city  of  Washington.  The  commission  may  by  order  delegate  one  or 
more  of  the  commissioners  to  prosecute  any  inquiry  necessary  to  or  in  connection 
with  its  duties  in  any  part  df  the  United  States  into  any  matter  or  question  of 
fact  pertaining  to  the  busin*8s  of  any  corporation  or  person,  or  number  of  corpora- 
tions or  persons,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  shall,  by  order,  direct  the 
duties  of  any  commissioner  so  delegated.  And  to  carry  out  and  give  effect  to  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  tiW  commission  is  hereby  authorized  to  employ  special  agents 
or  examiners  who  shall  have  power  to  administer  oaths,  examine  witnesses  and 
receive  evidence. 

SEC.  10.  That  It  shall  be  the  duty  and  jurisdiction  of  the  commission  to 
inquire  Into  and  investigate  any  and  all  agreements,  contracts,  alliances, 
undertakings,  tr*de  arrangements,  combinations,  and  operating  practices  in,, 
through,  under  Or  by  which,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  any  corporation 
or  corporation*,  or  any  individual  or  individuals,  or  any  collection  or  asso- 
ciation of  individuals,  riot  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  interstate  com- 
Sierce  Act,  tttlt  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  as  a  business,  or  making: 
Interstate  shipments  for  itself  or  another  as  an  incident  to  or  part  of  its: 
business,  ttftve  contracted,  agreed,  arranged,  combined,  or  made  any  trade 
Arrangement  with  any  corporation  or  corporations,  individual  or  individuals, 
»r  any  collection  or  association  of  individuals,  relating  to  production,  manu- 
facture, Shipping,  transportation,  or  to  manufacturing  and  shipping  or  pro- 
ducing And  shipping  or  otherwise  transporting,  or  the  obtaining  for  manu- 
lactur*,  production,  change  in  form,  or  combination  in  construction,  of  any 
article  or  articles,  commodity  or  commidities,  product  or  thing  of  whatsoever 
kind,  or  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  whatsoever,  and  to  determine 
whether  any  such  agreement,  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrange- 
ment, combination  or  operating  practice,  or  any  act  or  thing  done  thereunder, 
or  pursuant  thereto,  or  in  carrying  out  thereof,  is  in  violation  of  an  Act: 
approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  entitled  "An  Act  to  pro- 
t€*t  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies,"  and 
Ifty  amendments  thereof,  and  whether  any  such  contract,  agreement,  alliance,, 
undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  combination,  or  operating  practice,  or  any 

Jhl,  o F?    •  lng    d01ie    t,hereunder   or    Pursuant    thereto    or    in    the    carrying    out 
thereof,   is  an  unlawful  restraint  or  monopoly. 

SEC.  11.  That  any  corporation  or  corporations,  individual  or  individuals, 
or  association  or  collection  of  individuals,  not  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
the  interstate  commerce  Act,  now  engaged  or  desiring  to  engage  in  any 
business  enterprise,  agreement  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrange- 
Combination,  or  operating  practice  with  any  corporation  or  corpora- 
ir lth/ny  individual  or  individuals,  or  association  or  collection  of 
«  nder  and  by  tvirtue  of  any  contract,  agreement,  arrangement, 
eXvRres.s  or  implied,  or  trade  combination,  for  the  purpose  of 
'r^PPmf'  Vansportins'  or  of  manufacturing  and  transporting- 
n  t»«  f  Producing  or  obtaining,  either  for  manufacture  or  ship- 
iSs  or  ^Pn  rtall°n'  ftn.y  artjcle  or  articles,  or  any  commodity  or  com- 
ercandS  £*?£2J£  thlng  °f  whatsoever  kind,  or  any  goods,  wares,  or 
f  the  ?omSn«VnHr  *ri  m"7 /ubmit  *°  th*  Commission,  or  to  one  or  mora- 
lise ae^mpn?  /nr,t  6lef at^?-  to  hear  and  determine  the  same,  such  enter- 
bfnation  n?  on^ot-  Ct>  alliance.  undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  com- 

unation,    or    operating    practice,    or    the    acts    or    things    done    thereunder    or 


AMERICAN    MINING    CONGRESS  71 

pursuant  thereto,  or  in  the  carrying  out  thereof,  for  approval  by  such  coin- 
mission,  or  by  the  commissioner  or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear  and 
•determine  the  same;  and  if  approved  the  same  may  be  adopted  and  acted 
upon,  or  the  actions  or  things  done  thereunder  or  pursuant  thereto  or  in  the 
carrying  out  thereof  continued,  and  if  pursued,  followed,  and  prosecuted 
.according  to  the  permission  or  direction  of  the  commission,  or  of  the  com- 
missioner or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear  and  determine  the  same, 
such  determination  shall  be  final  and  conclusive  as  to  ajl  questions  of  fact, 
«nd  conclusive  that  such  business  enterprise,  agreement,  contract,  alliance, 
undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  combination  or  operating  practice  Is  not  in 
violation  of  the  act  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety, 
entitled  "An  act  to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints 
and  monopolies,"  or  of  any  amendments  thereof,  and  is  not  an  unlawful 
restraint  of  trade:  Provided,  That  no  statement,  document,  or  evidence  made, 
submitted,  or  given  in  any  hearing  under  this  Act  by  ary  corporation  or  cor- 
porations, individual  or  individuals,  or  association  or  collection  of  individuals, 
voluntarily  submitting  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commission  and  abiding  by 
.and  obeying  the  determination  and  mandate  of  the  commission,  or  of  any 
commissioner  or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear  and  determine  the  same, 
shall  be  used  as  evidence  against  any  such  corporation,  individual,  association, 
or  collection  of  individuals  in  any  proceedings  or  action  in  any  court  or  other 
tribunal  against  any  such  corporation,  individual,  association,  or  collection 
of  individuals. 

SEC.  12.  That  upon  the  finding  by  the  commission,  or  by  any  commissioner 
>or  commissioners,  that  any  agreement,  contract,  alliance  undertaking,  trade 
arrangement,  combination,  or  operating  practice,  or  any  act  or  thing  done 
under  or  pursuant  thereto,  or  in  the  carrying  out  thereof,  is  unlawful,  and 
is  in  violation  of  the  Act  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety, 
entitled,  "An  Act  to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints 
,;and  monopolies,"  or  upon  the  disapproval  by  the  commission  or  by  any  com- 
missioner or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear  and  determine  the  same,  of  any 
..such  agreement,  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  combina- 
tion, or  operating  practice,  the  commission  shall  serve  notice  on  such  cor- 
poration, individual  or  association  or  collection  of  individuals,  that  such 
Agreement,  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  combination, 
or  operating  practice,  or  such  proposed  agreement,  contract,  alliance,  under- 
taking, trade  arrangement,  combination,  or  operating  practice  is  unlawful  and 
that  all  or  any  acts  or  things  being  done  or  proposed  to  be  done  under  or 
pursuant  thereto,  or  in  the  carrying  out  thereof,  shall  cease  and  terminate,  and 
-on  failure  within  a  reasonable  time  to  cancel  and  annul  such  agreement,  con- 
tract, alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrangement,  combination,  or  operating 
practice,  or  to  change,  amend  or  correct  the  same  in  compliance  with  the  order 
or  mandate  of  the  commission  or  of  any  commissioner  or  commissioners 
delegated  to  hear  and  determine  the  same,  or  to  cease  all  acts  and  things 
toeing  done  thereunder  and  pursuant  theret9>  and  in  carrying  out  the  same, 
except  as  ordered  or  directed  by  the  commissioner,  or  by  any  commissioner 
or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear  and  determine  the  same,  the  com- 
mission shall  certify  its  findings  and  orders,  or  the  finding  and  orders  of 
:&ny  commissioner  or  commissioners  delegated  to  hear -and  determine  the 
same,  to  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  and  such  finding  shall 
in  any  suit,  prosecution,  or  proceeding  brought  and  prosecuted  on  account 
•of  the  matters  involved  or  growing  out  of  such  findings,  be  prima  facie 
proof  of  the  facts  involved  therein. 

SEC.  13.  That  any  State  or  Federal  Prosecuting  Attorney,  upon  proper 
showing  under  oath  of  five  or  more  persons,  citizens  of  the  United  States 
whose  interests  are  affected  may  complain  that  any  corporation  or  cor 
porations,  individual,  association,  or  collection  of  individuals,  within  th( 
meaning  and  provisions  of  this  Act,  either  alone  or  in  connection  with  anj 
other  corporation  or  individual  or  association  or  collection  of  individuals, 
is  violating  the  provisions  of  the  Act  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hun- 
•dred  and  ninety,  entitled,  "An  Act  to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against 
unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies,"  stating  the  facts  of  such  alleged  viola- 
tion fully  and  with  particularity.  Thereupon  the  commission  or  the  com- 
missioner or  commissioners  that  it  may  delegate  to  hear  and  determine  the 
complaint  shall  cause  summons  to  issue  to  all  such  corporations  or  indi- 
viduals to  appear  at  a  place  named  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Federal  dis- 
trict court  of  the  principal  place  of  business  or  residence  of  any  one  of  such 
parties  so  complained  of  on  a  day  named,  being  not  less  than  twenty  days 
from  the  date  of  service,  to  show  cause  why  the  commission  should  not  de- 
clare such  agreement,  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrangement, 
combination,  or  operating  practice  unlawful  and  in  violation  of  the  Act 
approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  entitled,  "An  Act  to 
protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies." 
"The  commission,  or  any  one  or  more  commissioners  to  whom  the  matter  has 
t»een  referred,  may  by  the  proper  process  compel  the  attendance  of  the 
parties  and  the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  papers  and 
^documents,  and  may  hear  and  determine  the  charges,  and  may  make  the 
iproper  finding  and  orders  warranted  by  the  evidence,  as  provided  in  other 
«cases  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 


72  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

SBC.  14.  That  any  commissioner  or  officer  or  employee  of  such  commission 
who  shall  give  out,  repeat,  divulge,  or  in  any  manner  make  public  any  matter, 
act,  doing,  or  decision  of  such  commission,  or  the  contents  or  substance  or 
effect  of  any  agreement,  contract,  alliance,  undertaking,  trade  arrangement, 
combination,  understanding,  transaction,  or  practice  designated  by  the 
commission  not  to  be  made  public  may  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  exceeding 
one  thousand  dollars,  and  shall  be  summarily  removed  or  discharged. 

SEC.  15.  That  as  to  all  matters  of  procedure  relating  to  the  enforcement 
and  to  the  method  and  manner  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  Act  not 
herein  particularly  specified,  the  commission  and  courts  and  public  officers 
shall  be  governed  and  controlled  by  the  provisions  relating  to  procedure  of  the 
Act  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  entitled 
"An  Act  to  regulate  commerce."  and  the  commission  or  any  commissioner 
or  commissioners  to  whom  a  matter  has  been  referred  for  hearing  and  deter- 
mination is  hereby  authorized  to  use  the  proper  writs  and  processes  of  the 
proper  district  court,  and  to  direct  the  acts  of  the  officers  of  the  proper  district 
court,  for  all  purposes  in  carrying  out  or  enforcing  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 

SEC.  16.  No  prosecution  suit,  action  or  other  proceeding  shall  be  in- 
stituted under  the  provisions  of  an  act  approved  July  two,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety  entitled,  "An  Act  to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against 
unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies,"  or  any  amendments  thereof  until 
after  investigation  and  decision  by  the  Interstate  Trade  Commission  as  in 
this  act  provided. 

SEC.  17.  That  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  out  all  the  provisions  of  this  act  until  such  time  as  regular  annual 
appropriations  are  made. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  assume,  Mr.  President,  that  it 
is  not  intended  that  this  Congress  shall  go  on  record  as  approving  this 
specific  bill.  The  report  of  the  committee  is  not  intended  to  ask  for 
the  indorsement  of  the  bill  by  the  Congress,  but  simply  to  submit  it  so 
that  it  will  appear  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress  as  a  matter  for 
further  consideration. 

.THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Secretary  has  some  announcements  to 
make,  after  which  we  will  adjourn  until  2  o'clock. 

THE  SECRETARY:  Mr.  Harry  Taylor  was  selected  by  the  Pro- 
gram Committee  to  take  charge  of  the  meeting  of  the  coal  operators. 

This  afternoon,  in  his  absence,  the  President  suggests  that  Mr.  Carl 
Scholz  shall  act  as  the  Temporary  Chairman  of  that  meeting. 

Adjourned. 

THURSDAY,  OCTOBER  23,   1913. 
Afternoon  Session 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  meeting  will  please  come  to  order.  Mr. 
W.  H.  Fluker,  of  Thompson,  Georgia,  will  present  his  paper  on 
"Gold  Mining  in  Georgia." 

MR.  FLUKER:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  I  realize  that  this 
is  not  a  gold  mining  meeting,  and  that  most  of  us  here  are  little 
interested  in  gold  mining.  I  am  from  Georgia,  however,  and  I  am 
naturally  more  interested  in  that  subject  than  any  other. 

Mr.  Fluker's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  216  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Next  we  will  have  the  pleasure  of  listening  to 
j  ™-ar-tm  D'  Foster>  Chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Mines 
and  Mining,  on  the  subject  of  "The  Federal  Government  and  the  Mining 
Industry." 

,..  .DR-  FOSTER:  Mr.  President  and  members  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress:  I  am  glad  of  the  honor  of  attending  your  meeting. 
I  do  not  know  that  I  can  offer  anything  new  on  this  subject,  which  may 
he  interesting  to  you,  as  it  has  been  discussed  so  often  and  so  much  in 
the  past  If  I  may  take  the  liberty  of  reading  to  you  a  few  remarks 
that  I  shal  make  on  this  subject,  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  do  so  It  has 
been  my  pleasure,  since  I  have  been  a  member  of  Congress,  during  the 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  73 

agitation    of    this    subject    to    induce    the    National    Legislatures    to    do 
something  for  the  mining  interests  of  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Foster's  address  will  be  found  at  page  370  of  this  report. 

DR.  FOSTER:  I  remember  when  we  first  started  in  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  coal  mining  industry,  and  it  required  some  time  to  convince 
Congress  of  the  necessity  of  establishing  another  Bureau  in  the  Federal 
Government.  You  all  know,  who  -have  had  any  expertence  in  inducing 
Legislatures  and  Congress  to  do  something  new  that  they  immediately 
look,  and  naturally  so,  at  the  expense  that  may  be  incurred  by  increasing 
the  Governmental  activity;  and  so  the  great  catastrophes  convinced 
Congress  that  the  time  had  come  when  something  should  be  done  to 
prevent  the  great  loss  of  life  that  was  occurring  year  after  year  in 
the  mining  industry  of  the  country.  The  headlines  of  the  newspapers 
do  not  contain  accounts  of  the  loss  of  one  life  in  one  particular  place, 
but  today  we  read  of  the  great  catastrophe  down  in  New  Mexico.  I  do 
not  believe,  gentlemen,  that  any  reasonable  request  made  to  Congress  for 
an  expenditure  of  money  to  assist  your  industry  in  saving  life  will  be 
refused. 

I  desire  to  say  that  in  the  Sixty-second  Congress,  when  every 
appropriation  was  being  held  down  to  the  very  lowest  amount,  the 
Bureau  of  Mines  received  the  only  increase  that  was  given  during  that 
session,  and  the  only  one  which  was  increased  about  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  I  do  not  believe  you  expect  a  very  rapid  increase  of  appropria- 
tions. I  do  not  believe  it  could  be  profitably  used  should  a  great  amount 
of  money  be  appropriated  at  one  particular  session  of  Congress,  or  for 
one  year,  but  gradually  this  work  grows,  and  the  appropriation  grows, 
as  it  is  necessary  to  develop  this  great  industry  in  which  you  are  engaged. 

I  came  over  here  to  talk  to  you  for  just  a  little  while  today  and 
to  let  you  know  that,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  pleased  to  help 
you  in  this  work,  that  the  mining  industry  may  develop;  that  it  may  be 
more  profitable;  that  we  may  discover  finally  some  means  whereby  the 
loss  of  life  in  the  mining  industry  may  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  per 
cent,  possible.  If  we  -can  accomplish  that  in  time,  we  have  done  a  great 
work,  and  the  money  expended  will  _  have  been  well  used.  I  want  all 
of  .you  to  feel,  so  far  as  your  organization  is  concerned,  that,  while  I 
could  not  promise  what  will  be  done,  because  I  do  not  know — I  am  only 
one  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-five  members  in  the  National  House  of 
Representatives— yet  I  feel  confident  that  Congress  is  willing  to  appro- 
priate a  reasonable  amount,  as  has  been  done  for  agriculture  and  other 
departments  of  the  Government  in  helping  you  along  in  the  great  work 
in  which  you  are  engaged.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  certainly  want  to  voice  my  appreciation  of 
the  eloquent,  comprehensive  and  scholarly  address  of  Dr.  Foster,  and 
would  like  very  much  if  some  of  the  members  here  would  take  up  the 
subject  in  a  general  discussion. 

MR.  C.  J.  NORWOOD,  Lexington,  Ky.:  I  have  no  intention  of 
•undertaking  to  discuss  Dr.  Foster's  paper,  but  I  do  wish  to  say  that  I 
am  very  much  pleased  with  his  reference  to  Federal  aid  to  mining 
schools  under  State  control.  I  feel  great  interest  in  the  subject  on 
more  than  one  account.  I  happen  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  State  mining 
school,  and  this  may  cause  some  of  you  to  discount  what  I  may  say  in 
behalf  of  the  proposition,  but  I  hope  not. 

My  notion  is  that  the  greatest  benefit  that  a  State  school  can  be 
to  the  mining  interests  is  not  simply  or  chiefly  in  the  education  of 
mining  engineers,  and  such  is  not  the  chief  ambition  of  the  Kentucky 
College  of  Mines  and  Metallurgy.  I  believe  that  the  State  schools  can 
do  their  greatest  work  in  educating  the  miners,  and  it  is  in  that  direction 
that  we  hope  to  be  able  to  accomplish  much  good.  But  to  properly 


74  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

broaden  their  work  so  that  the  working  miner  can  be  reached  in  an 
adequate  way,  the  State  schools  must  have  greater  facilities  for  extend- 
ing their  instruction  into  the  mming  regions  than  most  of  them  now  do 
have,  for  such  instruction  must  be  of  a  special  sort  and  carried  on 
apart  from  that  which  is  laid  out  for  training  engineers. 

I  also  happen  to  be  Chief  Inspector  of  Mines  for  our  State,  and  I 
have  reached  the  same  conclusion  that,  I  suppose,  most  men  connected 
with  coal  mining  have  reached,  and  that  is  that  the  greatest  agency  for 
reducing  accidents  in  our  coal  mines  is  education.  Not  only  must  we 
have  trained  managers  and  trained  engineers,  but  the  minor  officers 
and  miners  and  common  laborers  must  be  better  educated. 

I  remember  the  time  when  the  foreman  was  made  responsible  for 
about  everything  that  was  done  about  the  mine.  He  was  expected  to 
determine,  in  a  fashion,  many  things  that  really  belong  to  the  work  of 
an  engineer,  and  results  have  not  been  creditable  to  our  management  of 
mines  and  percentage  of  extraction  of  coal  from  the  bed.  I  think  that 
the  foreman's  duties  will  now,  through  the  demands  of  modern  mining, 
become  specialized  and  more  restricted,  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  the 
foreman  will  be  required  to  have  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
technical  features  of  the  work  ttiat  does  come  under  his  control 
than  has  been  accepted  heretofore;  and  this  is  equally  true  of  the  other 
minor  officials  in  the  mines.  All  down  the  line  the  demand  is  for 
greater  efficiency,  for  more  intimate  knowledge  of  principles  and  for 
a  wider  range_  of  information  generally. 

The  expert  miner  and  the  common  laborer  must  alike  have  a  better 
education  in  matters  pertaining  to  mining.  This  will  enable  him  to 
understand  the  necessity  for  discipline — a  difficult  thing  for  an  unedu- 
cated man.  It  has  been  said  time  and  time  again  that  the  best  safeguard 
against  accidents  is  discipline — that  we  can  limit  them  by  means  of  a 
set  of  rules.  No  doubt  that  is  true;  but  the  difficulty  is  to  get  men  to 
accept  discipline.  We  have  Rules  and  "Don'ts"  in  such  number  that  no 
one  can  remember  them.  The  natural  tendency  of  a  man  seems  to  go 
against  a  rule,  unless  he  can  see  the  reason  behind  it.  Those  who 
have  their  natural  intelligence  broadened  by  educational  training  can 
see  the  reason  behind  the  rule,  and  ordinarily  when  a  man  does  see  the 
reason  for  it  he  will  follow  the  rule.  I  have  been  in  touch  with  mines 
for  quite  a  number  of  years,  and  I  think  I  can  speak  with  confidence 
on  this  question.  Now,  I  think  the  State  mining  schools,  if  provided 
with  means  to  adequately  carry  on  what  is  known  as  "extension  work" 
among  the  mines,  can  do  a  work  of  immense  value  to  the  mining 
interests,  not  only  in  educating  men  for  positions  of  authority  in  the 
mines,  but  in  educating  the  miner  so  that  he  will  the  more  readily  act 
in  accordance  with  established  rules  (which  is  discipline)  and  thus 
co-operate  in  limiting  the  number  of  mine  accidents. 

Further,  if  the  Federal  Government  would  give  to  the  State  mining 
schools  money  that  would  enable  them  to  carry  on  some  research  work 
in  the  mining  regions— and  for  present  purposes  I  will  emphasize  the 
coal  mining  regions— the  schools  could  do  much  that  would  be  of 
direct,  practical  service  to  the  industry  in  their  respective  States.  For 
instance  in  our  State,  when  opening  a  coal  mine,  we  leave  pillars  of  a 
width  that  is  settled  entirely  by  tradition,  and  which  originally  was 
determined  solely  by  what  may  be  called  "rule  of  thumb."  In  one  field 
pillars  are  about  the  same  width,  no  matter  what  particular  seam  of  coal 
is  being  work,ed,  and  that  width  was  determined  by  somebody  or  bodies 
who  came  from  England,  or,  it  may  be,  Scotland,  many  years  ago,  the 
widtl  then  adopted  being  that  which  served  for  a  coal  of  the  same 
thKrkness  in  the  old  country."  We  do  not  know  the  compressive 
strength  of  a  single  seam  of  coal  in  Kentucky,  therefore  cannot  tell 
what  weight  a  given  pillar  of  this  or  that  coal  can  really  carry  Of 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  75 

course,  the  various  beds  have  different  strengths,  and  not  only  that,  but 
the  same  seam  is  stronger  in  some  parts  of  a  field  than  in  others. 
Becoming  convinced  that  the  usual  width  of  pillar  left  in  working  one 
of  the  coals  in  our  Western  field  is  too  small — that  with  wider  pillars 
certain  evils  that  are  now  coincident  with  the  working  of  that  coal 
would  probably  be  obviated — I  recently  suggested  to  one  of  our  opera- 
tors, who  contemplates  opening  a  new  mine,  that  he  provide  for  thicker 
pillars;  but  when  he  asked  what  the  increase  should  be  I  was  unable 
to  give  a  really  definite  answer,  because  of  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  the 
crushing  strength  of  the  coal. 

If  our  school  had  the  money  necessary  to  enable  us  to  carry  on 
investigations  of  the  crushing  strengths  of  the  different  seams  of  coal 
in  the  State — ^nd  this  would  not  be  duplication  of  work  that  the  Federal 
Bureau  of  Mines  might  "be  expected  to  carry  on — the  result  would  be 
worth  a  great  deal  to  our  mining  industry,  since  it  would  make  possible 
the  obtention  of  more  coal  from  an  acre,  would  reduce  costs  incident 
to  squeezes  and  unquestionably  would  greatly  reduce  the  number  of 
accidents  that  occur  in  the  mines. 

If  we  could  have  enough  money  to  carry  our  instructional  work 
right  to  the  mines  in  every  locality — in  other  words,  if  we  had  the 
means  to  employ  a  sufficient  number  of  instructors  in  our  "extension 
work,"  and  provide  them  with  proper  illustrative  appliances — it  would 
be  a  wonderful  help  to  the  mining  industry.  This  is  a  matter  in  which 
I  am  very  much  interested,  not  simply  as  the  head  of  a  mining  school, 
but  as  a  mine  inspector  engaged  in  efforts  to  reduce  the  loss  of  life 
and  limb  at  mines. 

What  I  have  said  in  general,  of  course,  applies  to  all  State  mining 
schools.  I  have  only  used  the  Kentucky  school  as  an  illustration.  I 
feel  sure  that  the  mining  industry  as  a  whole  will  be  very  glad  if  Dr. 
Foster  and  his  associates  succeed  in  obtaining  from  Congress  aid  for 
the  State  mining  schools  comparable  in  at  least  some  degree  with  that 
it  has  given  to  schools  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts. 

MR.  THOS.  T.  REED,  of  California:  I  would  like  to  offer  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  Honorable  Dr.  Foster  for  coming  here  to  speak 
to  us  today,  and  express  our  thanks  for  the  deep  interest  he  feels  in 
our  behalf. 

Carried. 

The   President  conveys  the  thanks  of  the  -meeting. 

DR.  FOSTER:  I  came  here  because  I  thought  it  was  my  duty 
to  come  here.  I  felt  what  little  I  could  help  along  this  work  I  would 
very  gladly  do.  I  realize  that  the  state  of  Illinois  is  largely  interested 
in  coal  mining.  There  is  not  a  great  deal  of  other  mining  in  com- 
parison with  our  coal.  I  want  to  state  this:  that  in  Illinois,  so  far  as 
the  mining  laws  are  concerned,  I  think  we  have  taken  some  advanced 
steps.  We  have  established  our  own  rescue  stations,  purchased  our  own 
equipment,  trained  our  men,  and  in  the  last  State  fair  held  in  Spring- 
field, we  went  there  and  competed  with  others  for  a  prize  offered  by 
the  State  Fair  Association. 

I  feel  somewhat  proud,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  express  it,  of  my 
own  State  in  taking  this  interest  in  mining  work,  and  I  hope  they 
will  go  ahead  and  do  more  than  ever. 

It  has  been  my  pleasure  to  get  those  mine  rescue  cars  in  the 
district  that  I  represent.  As  expressed  by  the  gentleman  a  moment 
ago,  what  we  need  is  education.  You  can  establish  discipline,  and 
yet  if  men  are  not  trained  to  the  importance  of  this  work  they  become 
careless  because  they  see  no  accidents,  so  it  is  necessary  they  should 
be  trained.  A  man  may  escape  it  ninety-nine  times,  and  the  next  time 
there  may  be  an  accident  in  which  he  not  only  loses  his  bwn  life,  but 
the  lives  of  many  more  will  be  lost. 


76  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

A  DELEGATE:  Would  you  mind  telling  us  what  the  appropria- 
tion of  the  last  Congress  to  the  Bureau  of  Mines  is? 

DR.  FOSTER:  Six  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  dollars,  if 
I  remember  rightly.  That  included  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for 
western  mining. 

A  DELEGATE:  You  say  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  set 
aside  for  western  metal  mining? 

DR.  FOSTER:  I  want  to  say  this:  After  we  established  the 
Bureau  of  Mines,  I  attempted  to  get  an  appropriation  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  the  western  mining  work,  and  I  found  a  point  of  order  was 
made  qn  the  amendment,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  original  law  did 
not  authorize  the  appropriation,  and  then  we  passed  another  law  which 
enlarges  the  scope  of  the  Mining  Bureau,  and  the  appropriation  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  made  under  that  law. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  think  probably  our  next  paper  will  give 
us  some  idea  of  what  the  appropriation  of  that  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  appropriated  for  western  metal  mining,  is,  and  what  it  is  being 
expended  for.  We  'now  have  a  paper  on  that  most  interesting  subject, 
"The  Radium  Situation,"  by  Dr.  C.  W.  Parsons,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

DR.  PARSONS:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress:  I  doubt  if  it  is  worth  while  for  me  to  read  this 
paper,  which  will  take  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes,  but  I  will 
try  to  give  you  in  a  shorter  time  a  little  summary  of  what  it  contains. 

Dr.  Parsons'  paper  will  be  found  at  page  223  of  this  report. 

THE   PRESIDENT:     I    am   certain   that   if  any   of  you    desire   to 
ask  any  questions  of  Dr.  Parsons  that  he  will  be  very  glad  to  answer. 
(No  questions  asked). 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Has  any  gentleman  present  any  resolutions 
to  offer.  There  are  two  on  the  table,  and  in  the  absence  of  the 
Secretary  I  will  read  them  and  after  that  refer  them  to  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions. 

RESOLUTION   No.   5 
(Introduced  by  H.  M.  Lawrie,  of  Oregon.) 

WHEREAS,  This  Congress  has  previously  endorsed  the 
principle  of  Federal  Aid  to  State  Mining  Schools,  therefore, 
be  it 

RESOLVED:  That  the  American  Mining  Congress,  again 
urge  immediate  passage  by  Congress  of  legislation  providing 
for  Federal  assistance  to  the  various  State  Mining  Schools. 

RESOLUTION   NO.  6 
(Introduced  by  Charles  E.  Maurer,  of  Ohio.) 

WHEREAS,  The  reports  of  the  Geographical  Survey  show 
the  deplorable  condition  of  the  great  coal  industry  of  the  United 
States  and  the  small  returns  for  the  investment,  and 

WHEREAS,  Federal  and  State  laws  encouraging  com- 
petition and  preventing  reasonable  co-operation  among  those 
engaged  in  the  production  of  this  great  natural  resource, 
result  not  only  in  preventing  a  fair  return  for  the  investment 
of  capital  and  the  risks  involved,  but  in  most  cases  allow  only 
the  recovery  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  per  cent,  of  our  buried  heat, 
light  and  power,  the  balance  of  which  is  irretrievably  lost,  and 

WHEREAS,  These  laws  prevent  the  surrounding  of  the 
mployees  engaged  in  the  extremely  dangerous  occupatton  of 
mining  with  all  possible  safeguards;  therefore,  be  it 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  77 

RESOLVED:  That  we  urge  upon  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  and  the  State  Legislatures  the  necessity  of  the 
modification  of  the  so-called  "Anti-Trust"  laws  as  applied  to 
our  natural  resources  in  order  that  they  may  be  conserved  and 
proper  safeguards  thrown  around  the  employees,  be  it  further 
RESOLVED:  That  copies  of  this  resolution  and  the  ad 
dress  of  Edward  W.  Parker  to  this  Congress  be  sent  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  the  members  of  Congress 
and  to  the  Governors  of  the  respective  coal  producing  States 
of  the  Union. 

I  will  make  the  announcement  that  a  meeting  of  the  new  Board  of 
Directors  will  be  held  at  5  P.  M.  in  the  room  immediately  to  the  rear 
of  the  stage,  where  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  is  now  holding  its 
session.  There  will  be  no  evening  session,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
Reception  Committee  is  giving  a  smoker  in  this  room  at  9  o'clock.  Be 
sure  and  get  your  tickets  as  you  go  through  the  passage.  All  delegates 
are  entitled  to  tickets. 

We  have  an  invitation  from  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  Lodge 
to  visit  the  Masonic  Temple.  You  know  this  city  has  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  elaborate  Masonic  Temples  in  the  country. 

Meeting  adjourned  until   10  o'clock  tomorrow  morning. 

FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  24,   1913 
Morning  Session 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  the  President. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  first  hear  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  "Standardization  of  Electrical  Equipment  in  Coal  Mines,"  by 
Mr.  George  R.  Wood,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Report  of  Committee-  on  Standardization  of  Electrical  Equipment  in 
Coal  Mines: 

To  the  American  Mining  Congress: 

Gentlemen: — Your  committee,  begs  to  report  that  it  has  observed 
the  operation  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Code,  covering  electrical  practice 
in  mines,  which,  as  previously  reported,  is  practically  identical  with  the 
code  drafted  by  your  committee. 

Mr.  James  E.  Roderick,  Chief  of  the  Department  of  mines  for 
Pennsylvania,  advises  that  he  has  no  changes  to  suggest,  and  states 
that  the  code  has  given  satisfaction. 

Since  this  law  has  been  in  practical  operation  for  two  years,  and 
has  proven  to  be  a  satisfactory  working  code,  your  committee  recom- 
mends that  this  code  be  offered  by  the  Congress  to  the  Mining  Depart- 
ments of  the  bituminous  coal  mining  States  as  a  basis  for  uniform  rules 
or  laws  covering  the  installation  of  electrical  equipment  in  mines. 

GEORGE  R.  WOOD,  Chairman. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Any  remarks  or  discussion  on  this  report? 
If  not,  will  some  one  kindly  move  that  it  be  adopted. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  move  that  the  Report  of  the 
Committee  be  adopted. 

Seconded;   carried. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  now  hear  the  report  of  the  Special 
Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

MR.  GRIFFITH,  Chairman  of  the  Committee:  Gentlemen  of 
the  American  Mining  Congress,  your  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means 
have  been  considering  the  matter  of  the  finances  of  this  Congress 


78  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

yesterday  afternoon  and  this  morning,  and  we  have  thought  it  wise 
to  place  this  matter  before  you  in  a -detailed  way.  This  Congress  is 
a  voluntary  organization,  which  is  composed  of,  first,  members  who 
pay  their  dues,  $10.00  a  year,  and,  second,  delegates  who  pay  no  dues 
at  all,  but  have  the  right  to  come  to  these  meetings  and  vote  on  all 
questions,  do  everything  that  members  do,  except  hold  office.  The 
total  membership  of  the  Organization  has  been  about  fifteen  hundred. 
That  is  the  number  that  are  expected  to  pay  ten  dollars  each,  but  the 
Secretary  has  been  able  to  collect  from  only  about  five  hundred  of 
those  fifteen  hundred  people.  Consequently,  the  finances  of  this  or- 

fanization    have    been    in    a    sad    state    ever    since    it    started,    and   ,the 
ecretary  has  been   compelled  year  after  year  to  finance   the   different 
matters  and  help  the  organization  out. 

Your  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  have  considered  this  entirely 
wrong,  and  that  we  ought  to  arrange  some  method  of  maintaining 
the  finances  of  this  organization  permanently  and  liberally,  because  it 
may  be  made  an  organization  of  the  utmost  usefulness  to  the  mining 
industry  in  this  country. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  necessary  to  in  some  manner  induce  more 
permanent  members  to  join  the  organization  and  pay  their  dues  regu- 
larly, and  to  that  end  it  is  urged  by  this  Committee  that  every  member 
here  resolve  himself  into  a  Committee  of  one  to  secure  new  members 
for  this  organization,  and  every  member  of  this  Convention  as  a 
delegate  in  making  his  report  to  the  party  who  appointed  him  shall 
urge  upon  that  institution  the  necessity  of  using  every  influence  toward 
interesting  others  in  the  Congress. 

Now,  in  order  to  make  this  membership  and  activities  of  the  Con- 
gress more  desirable  we  render  the  following  report  and  trust  it  will 
meet  with  your  approval. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means. 

The  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  recommend  that  an 
additional  class  of  members,  to  be  known  as  subscribing  mem- 
bers, be  created  in  this  Congress,  which  shall  consist  of  cor- 
porations only  and  who  shall  have  no  right  to  vote;  that  the 
portion  of  funds  to  be  raised  from  any  State  may  be  appor- 
tioned by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  for  that  State 
among  all  the  mining  corporation  in  the  State  in  approximately 
such  proportion  as  tih  value  of  the  mining  products  of  any  cor- 
poration bears  to  the  value  of  the  total  mining  products  of  the 
State;  that  these  subscribing  members,  in  consideration  of  their 
subscription  to  the  Congress,  shall  have  the  right  to  receive 
all  of  the  publications,  papers  and  other  printed  data  of  this 
Congress  and  shall  also  have  the  right  to  request,  from  time 
to  time,  such  information  of  a  legislative  and  statistical  nature, 
referring  to  mining  questions,  as  the  Secretary  may  be  able 
to  supply  from  the  records  of  the  Congress,  and  it  is  further 
recommended  that  the  Secretary  shall  employ  the  necessary 
assistance  to  compile  such  data  and  to  publish  a  bi-monthly 
bulletin  which  shall  contain  abstracts  of  pending  legislation, 
opinions  and  other  information  of  interest  to  the  mining 
Congress,  and  this  work  be  considered  one  of  the  important 
functions  of  the  Congress;  that  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
for  each  State  as  above  mentioned  shall  consist  of  three  mem- 
bers to  be  appointed  yearly  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  Mining  Congress,  and  that  the  assessment  for  each 
State  to  be  raised  by  these  State  Committees  shall,  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Board  of  Directors  be  approximately  such  a  pro- 
portion of  the  total  budget  as  the  value  of  the  mining  products  of 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  79 

each   State   bears   to   the   value   of  the   total   mining  products   of 
the    United    States. 

The  smallness  of  the  general  apportionment  and  the  light- 
ness of  the  burden  to  any  State  or  corporation  under  this 
scheme  can  be  immediately  seen  by  the  study  of  the  output 
tables  prepared  by  the  Government  in  which  the  total  valuation 
of  all  products  of  the  mines  of  this  country  are  for  the  year 
1911  in  excess  of  two  billion  dollars,  and  the  total  amount  to 
be  raised,  we  should  suggest  as  a  start,  should  be  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  which  is  a  small  amount  to  provide  for  the  proposed 
increased  activities  of  the  Congress,  and  this  would  show 
that  for  each  million  dollar  output  we  are  only  asking  twenty- 
five  dollars. 

Our  Secretary  in  his  work  in  Washington  has  discovered  that  the 
association  of  corporations  who  had  the  right  to  vote  and  control  tha 
activities  of  the  Congress  are  a  great  detriment  to  him.  Therefore 
these  subscribing  members  should  consist  of  members  who  have  no 
right  to  vote.  What  he  most  desires  is  more  members.  He  can  bQ 
very  much  more  efficient — do  much  more  efficient  work,  very  much 
more  valuable  to  the  mining  interests  of  the  country,  if  he  represents 
five  or  ten  thousand  men  who  contribute  ten  dollars  each  than  if  he 
represents  five  or  six  hundred  who  contribute  fifty  dollars  each.  What 
he  needs  is  the  backing  of  a  great  many  people  interested  in  the 
mining  industry. 

There  are  several  subjects  which  came  up  during  the  consideration 
of  this  question,  but  the  committee  divided  them  into  two  or  three 
questions  of  importance  to  this  Congress.  I  have  been  talking  a  little 
about  the  necessity  for  increasing  our  memb.ership,  and  Mr.  Jennings, 
one  of  the  members  of  the  committee,  will  talk  to  you  briefly  on  another 
matter. 

MR.  JENNINGS:  This  is  the  first  Congress  I  have  had  the  pleasure 
of  attending.  Having  been  out  of  the  country  for  many  years,  it  is  a 
ereat  privilege  to  me  to  have  come  in  contact  with  mining  men  in  the 
way  I  have  at  this  Congress.  I  have  been  much  impressed  by  the 
speakers  and  the  high  class  of  the  addresses,  papers  and  discussions. 
They  all  show  what  good,  necessary  and  useful  work  this  Congress 
can  do. 

Abroad  one  heard  comments  of  capitalists  against  investments  in 
mining  enterprises  in  this  country  in  connection  with  the  uncertainty  of 
the  titles  and  the  great  amount  of  litigation  prevailing  in  mining  affairs. 
The  Congress  Committee  on  Mining  Laws  has  ably  and  clearly  shown 
how  necessary  and  vital  is  reform  in  this  connection,  and  which  the 
Committee  on  Alaskan  Affairs  and  the  speakers  on  this  subject  have 
emphasized.  This  meeting  has  brought  forward  very  clearly  the  neces- 
sity of  harmonizing  State  and  Federal  viewpoints,  as  well  as  those  of 
labor  and  capital  in  the  mining  world,  and,  in  fact,  our  sphere  of  work 
and  usefulness  is  quite  unending.  On  the  other  hand,  there  seems  to  be 
no  proper  provision  made  to  give  force  to  the  ideas  and  work  attempted. 
Our  Secretary  has  done  wonders  with  the  money  and  aid  at  his  command, 
but  he  is  overburdened  not  only  in  a  technical  and  political  way,  but 
also  in  griving  so  much  of  'his  time  and  attention  in  the  past  to  the 
raising  of  the  inadequate  funds  obtained.  The  work  accomplished  and 
the  methods  pursued  by  our  Secretary  in  Washington  have  been 
explained  by  himse1f,  and  any  one  who  has  heard  him  must  be  satisfied 
that  what  we  are  endeavoring  to  do  in  bringing  to  the  attention  of 
Congress  the  varied  mining  wants  and  problems  of  the  country  has  been 
done  in  right,  proper  and  entirely  above-board  way.  He  has  indicated  also 
the  necessity  of  obtaining  our  funds  in  a  broad  way  from  all  classes  of 
persons  interested  in  mining,  as  in  this  way  the  money  will  be  far  more 


8o  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

valuable  in  that  it  will  allay  any  suspicion  that  this  Congress  and  its 
Secretary  are  run  by  any  small  group  of  persons  or  corporations  for 
selfish  purposes,  and  it  is  to  combat  this  idea  and  bring  all  interested 
in  mining  legislation  affairs  into  line  on  a  perfectly  fair  and  impersonal 
plane  that  the  recommendations  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
have  been  framed,  as  so  ably  outlined  by  our  Chairman. 

If  this  Congress  is  to  disseminate  the  varied  and  useful  information 
recommended  by  previous  speakers  and  be  in  a  position  to  be  listened 
to  with  respect  and  confidence  by  the  Representatives  of  the  different 
States  in  Washington  before  they  have  acti-i  on  bills  that  may  prove 
harmful  or  disastrous  to  certain  mining  sections  of  the  country,  it  is 
imperative  that  sufficient  means  should  be  provided  to  give  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Congress  facilities  to  do  their  office  work  in  a  thorough, 
systematic,  accurate  and  open  way,  and  if  such  funds  cannot  be  raised  in 
a  big  impersonal  way  as  outlined,  or  some  other  equally  broad  manner, 
then  it  would  seem  that  there  is  no  reason  for  the  continuance  of  the 
existence  of  the  Congress. 

MR.  BARTLETT:  Mr.  President  and  members  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress:  It  requires  time  and  thought  to  provide  ways  and 
means  to  raise  the  necessary  funds  to  do  the  work  that  can  be  done 
by  the  American  Mining  Congress.  Your  committee  has  thought  of 
making  a  lot  of  resolutions,  but  concluded  that  resolutions  never  answer 
the  purpose,  as  was  the  case  with  Senator  Wade,  of  Ohio,  back  in  the 
sixties.  The  Senator  was  a  rough-spoken  fellow,  and  after  the  war  he 
brougiht  home  a  colored  strvant.  Hi|s  town  had  never  had  any  colored 
people  and  rebelled.  They  called  a  meeting  and  made  resolutions  that 
Mr.  Wade  send  the  darkey  back.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait 
upon  the  Senator  and  present  the  resolution,  which  they  very  properly 
did.  He  said  to  them:  "Gentlemen,  you  can  resolute  until  hell  freezes, 
over,  but  the  first  man  that  touches  that  darkey  will  get  hurt,"  and 
the  darkey  died  a  natural  death.  Therefore,  instead  of  drawing  up  a 
lot  of  resolutions,  we  cut  the  matter  as  short  as  possible,  and  as  our 
worthy  Chairman,  Mr.  Griffith,  has  already  stated,  we  decided  that 
each  one  of  the  committee  would  state  to  the  members  of  the  Congress 
the  needs  of  the  Congress  and  the  absolute  need  of  funds  to  success- 
fully carry  on  the  work,  and  for  my  part  I  will  say  a  few  words  about 
the  necessity  of  organization: 

Now,  gentlemen,  during  the  last  few  days  of  this  session  we  have 
listened  to  very  able  papers,  such  as  I  have  never  listened  to  before, 
papers  of  able  men,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  largest  interests 
in  the  United  States  were  absolutely  making  less  than  3  per  cent,  on 
their  millions  of  actual  investment,  and  to  make  this  matter  still  morq 
emphatic,  the  statements  made  in  the  different  papers  read  are  abso- 
lutely proven  by  one  of  the  officials  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Parker, 
who  is  probably  better  able  to  judge  the  coal  business  than  any  other 
man  in  the  United  States. 

It  certainly  makes  me  think  of  a  minister  who  was  out  on  the  lake. 
It  was  pretty  rough,  and  the  minister  was  badly  scared.  He  went  to 
the  captain  and  said:  "Captain,  what  do  you  think?  It  is  pretty 
rough,  isn't  it?"  It  still  continued  to  blow,  and  once  more  the  minister 
went  to  the  captain  with  the  same  query,  and  said:  "Captain,  you 
know  that  I  am  a  young  man  in  the  clergy.  I  have  much  to  live  for 
and  many  opportunities  to  do  g.ood  and  do  not  want  to  die.  Please 
tell  me  what  you  think  of  the  situation."  The  captain  replied:  "Pretty 
rough,  young  man,  pretty  rough."  Again  in  a  short  time  the  minister 
repeated  the  question  and  the  captain  said:  "Now,  young  man,  come 
with  me.  Open  that  hatch  d9or  and  listen.  What  do  you  hear?"  The, 
minister  said:  "Why,  captain,  they  are  swearin^  like  sin."  "Well," 
replied  the  captain,  "as  long  as  they  keep  on  swearing  you  are  all 
right,  but  when  they  quit  swearing  and  go  to  praying,  then  look  out." 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  81 

It  still  continued  to  get  rougher  and  rougher.  Again  the  minister 
interrupted  the  captain  as  to  his  opinion.  The  captain  ignored  it,  and 
finally  he  went  again  to  the  hatch  door  and  said:  "Thank  the  Lord, 
they  are  still  swearing." 

Well,  I  am  rather  thankful  that  the  coal  and  other  mine  owners 
are  still  in  the  swearing  line.  Now,  gentlemen,  if  we  are  ever  going  to 
mend  these  conditions  it  must  necessarily  be  by  organization  or  united 
effort.  It  never  can  be  done  by  fighting  it  alone.  In  Illinois,  Indiana, 
West  Virginia,  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  other  States,  it  is  absolutely  necesj 
sary  that  something  be  done.  There  was  never  more  need  for  it  than 
at  the  present  time. 

Now,  for  one  moment,  please  consider  that  the  mine  operators  in 
these  States  depend  very  largely  indeed  upon  the  banks  of  the  nation 
for  capital.  Many  of  the  operators  are  clear  up  to  their  necks  in  debt. 
You  know  it,  and  I  know  it.  How  long  can  we  expect  the  banks  to  loan 
money  when  they  once  know  that  the  profits  on  the  business  is  less 
than  one-half  of  what  the  operators  are  paying  for  the  loan  of  the 
money,?  Again,  how  long  are  we  going  to  get  men  to  put  capital  into 
the  mining  business  after  they  once  know  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  to 
make  a  fair  return,  to  say  nothing  of  the  risks  that  it  is  necessary  to 
run  in  their  investments,  especially  when  they  can  put  their  capital  in 
school  and  other  bonds  which  are  absolutely  safe  investments,  with  4,  5 
and  even  6  per  cent,  interest?  Gentlemen,  it  is  high  time  that  the 
coal  miners,  as  well  as  all  kinds  of  miners,  should  organize  and  try  to 
better  their  conditions. 

The  American  Mining  Congress  has  now  been  in  existence  for 
sixteen  years.  Each  year  it  has  grown  stronger  and  stronger.  It 
commenced  with  the  precious  metals,  and  then  took  up  other  lines,  such 
as  lead  and  zinc,  then  the  bituminous  coal,  and  now  are  in  the  anthracite 
region,  trying  in  every  possible  way  to  interest  those  interested  in  the 
mining  business.  Now,  whatever  is  done  to  the  betterment  of  our 
condition  must  necessarily  be  done  through  organization  and  legislation, 
and  it  can  be  truly  stated  that  our  present  secretary,  Mr.  Callbreath, 
has  done  a  great  work,  especially  during  the  last  year.  He  could  have 
done  very  much  more  had  he  had  the  proper  support  financially;  in 
fact,  the  time  is  here  when  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  organization 
and  legislation  through  the  American  Mining  Congress  if  enough 
support  can  be  had  to  do  it;  and,  therefore,  as  a  member  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress,  I  appeal  to  you  and  urge  that  each  of  us  take  hold  of 
this  matter  and  see  that  enough  support  is  given.  It  can  be  done.  It 
is  up  to  us  to  do  it,  and  do  it  now. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     What  is  your  pleasure? 

A  DELEGATE:     I  move  the  report  be  adopted.     Seconded. 

W.  P.  BOLAND,  Scranton,  Pa.:  I  do  not  believe  we  should  tax 
without  representation.  I  believe  that  the  operator  or  the  corporation 
should  be  let  in  here  and  have  a  vote  and  power  as  well  as  the  active 
member.  I  do  not  think  there  ought  to  be  any  suspicion  or  any  doubt 
about  the  membership  of  an  organization  of  this  kind,  and  you  have  got 
good  men  in  corporations  that  would  be  valuable  assets  to  this  move- 
ment, and  I  believe  that  this  committee  ought  to  allow  every  member — 
ought  to  have  the  active  members  feel  they  were  not  the  allies  of  some 
concealed  combination  who  supported  this  organization.  I  believe  that 
the  members  here  ought  to  ask  every  man  to  give  his  best  thought  and 
debar  no  corporation  from  a  vote  in  this  organization. 

MR.  GRIFFITH:  I  might,  in  answer  to  that  remark,  say  the 
present  regulations  are  ample  to  cover  that  point.  There  is  nothing  to 
prevent  any  corporation  from  supporting  personal  memberships. 

A  DELEGATE:    Then  let  us  remove  that  suspicion. 


82  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

MR.  GRIFFITH:  The  object  is  to  guard  the  organization  from 
the  necessity  of  receiving  gifts  from  corporations.  We  want  to  place 
this  in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  be  to  the  advantage  01  corporations 
to  subscribe,  in  consideration  of  the  information  and  the  advantages 
they  would  secure  from  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  we  propose  to  organize. 

MR.  BOLAND:  That  is  my  very  idea,  if  you  please,  to  remove 
suspicion.  Great  corporations  are  charged  today  with  being  the  creators 
of  corrupt  politicians.  Now,  in  starting  this  movement,  let  every  man 
be  recognized  and  every  man  have  the  equal  power  of  the  others  to  vote. 
He  cannot  commit  any  wrong,  unless  the  majority  of  this  organization 
is  wrong,  and  let  this  body  eliminate  the  discrimination  against  the 
corporations.  They  have  enough  to  fight  now,  without  their  own 
organization,  or  an  organization  which  wants  to  uplift  it,  putting  a  cloud 
over"  it.  That  is  my  idea.  I  want  to  see  a  square  deal  for  the  fellows 
who  are  the  backbone  of  this  organization.  We  realize  now  more 
than  ever  the  necessity  of  good  thinking  men  getting  together  and 
trying  to  change  the  conditions.  That  is  my  idea. 

DR.  CHANCE:  Mr.  President,  I  think  if  we  adopt  the  suggestion 
of  the  gentleman  who  has  just  spoken  we  would  simply  convert  this 
Cong'ress  into  an  organization  of  corporations.  If  the  corporations 
desire  to  have  an  organization  which  shall  be  representative  of  corpora- 
tions, they  are  entirely  free  to  organize  such  an  institution.  This 
Congress  is  intended  to  represent,  not  corporations,  not  the  technical 
«nd  of  the  business,  not  the  mine  managers,  nor  the  public,  but  all. 
Now,  the  chief  beneficiary  of  the  activities  of  this  Congress  should  be 
the  corporations  and  larger  owners  of  mineral  properties.  This  organi- 
zation does  not  appeal  to  the  Mining  Engineer.  We  have  our  tech- 
nical societies;  we  have  local  technical  societies,  and  we  have  national 
technical  societies,  metallurgical  and  chemical  and  electro-chemical,  and 
we  do  not  come  here  to  be  benefited,  and,  therefore,  this  American 
Mining  Congress  has  a  very  small  percentage  among  its  members  of 
Mining  Engineers,  Metallurgists,  Electro-Chemists  and  men  engaged 
technically  in  the  various  industries  that  the  American  Mining  Con- 
gress represents  in  the  aggregate. 

Now,  if  the  corporations  are  the  chief  beneficiaries  of  the  work 
which  this  Congress  is  to  do  in  the  future,  then  the  corporations  should 
contribute  their  fair  quota  of  the  cost  of  doing  the  work. 

The  plan  which  is  suggested  by  the  Committee,  as  I  understand  it, 
is  one  whereby  the  necessity  of  asking  for  donations  or  voluntary  (Con- 
tributions from  corporations  and  operators  shall  be  removed.  That  ne- 
cessity in  the  past  has  led  to  suspicions  that  perhaps  the  American 
Mining  Congress  might  be  under  the  control  of  those  who  contributed 
largely  for  its  support.  That  suspicion  s'hould  be  removed.  I  do  not 
mean  to  imply  that  it  has  ever  injured  the  American  Mining  Congress, 
or  decreased  its  sphere  of  influence,  but  a  practical  way  should  be  found 
whereby  the  corporations  should  contribute  their  fair  share  of  the  ex- 
pense of  this  work,  and  at  the  same  time  not  be  asked  to  do  it  as  a 
gratuity  or  as  a  charity. 

To  accomplish  this,  the  Committee  proposes  that  the  Congress  shall 
resume,  but  in  an  entirely  different  form,  the  publication  of  its  Bulletin; 
that  this  Bulletin  shall  be  issued  bi-monthly;  that  the  Bulletin  shall 
contain  a  complete  synopsis  of  all  pending  legislation  in  every  State 
in  the  Union.  That  it  shall  contain  abstracts  of  the  decisions  handed 
down  by  the  Courts  in  the  several  States  in  all  cases  affecting  the  min- 
ing industry,  so  that  you  or  I  and  representatives  of  large  interests  may 
have  in  our  libraries  something  to  which  we  can  refer  and  upon  which 
we  can  rely  for  information  as  to  pending  legislation,  not  only  in  the 
State  in  which  we  do  business,  but  in  every  other  state.  That  service 
will  be  valuable  to  the  mine  manager,  to  the  presidents  and  officials 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  83 

of  mining  corporations  and  also  to  the  smaller  operator.  It  will  not 
only  keep  him  posted  as  to  what  rs  going  on  in  his  own  State,  but  will 
keep  him  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  legislation  all  over  the  country, 
and  when  legislation  of  an  objectionable  nature  is  proposed,  it  will 
warn  htm  in  advance  to  take  action,  so  that  we  may  move  quickly  and 
get  together  for  concerted  action. 

If  we  were  to  undertake  to  make  corporations  voting  members  of 
this  organization,  we  would  immediately  lose  with  the  public  that  in- 
fluence which,  as  a  voluntary  and  independent  association  of  mining 
men,  we  now  have,  but  which  we  cannot  retain  if  the  operations  and 
the  activities  of  this  Congress  are  not  wisely  administered.  For  these 
reasons,  I  think,  it  seems  utterly  impossible  for  this  organization  to 
consider  any  proposition  to  make  corporations  voting  members  of  this 
organization. 

But  there  are  other  objections.  If  you  make  a  corporation  a  voting 
member,  who  is  authorized  to  cast  the  vote?  The  President?  Perhaps 
by  resolution  of  the  board  of  directors,  perhaps  by  a  vote  of  the  stock- 
holders, a  President  or  Director  may  be  so  empowered,  but  if  some 
one  comes  here  to  cast  .such  a  vote  we  have  no  means  of  knowing 
whether  he  is  authorized  under  the  charter  of  that  corporation  to  cast 
the  vote  or  not. 

The  publication  of  this  Bulletin  will  involve  no  more  expense  than 
the  organization  has  been  put  to  before,  and  it  will  furnish  something  of 
value.  If  you  go  to  any  one  and  ask  for  money,  you  must  tender  a 
return  which  is  commensurate  with  the  proposition  that  you  ask  them 
to  accept. 

Heretofore  solicitations  for  voluntary  donations  were  sent  broad- 
cast to  those  who  might  feel  disposed  to  donate.  This  has  been  the 
main  source  of  revenue  which  has  made  possible  the  holding  of  the 
annual  meetings  or  Conventions.  The  Committee  believes  that  this 
system  ought  to  be  changed.  This  Congress  ought  to  stand  on  its 
own  feet  and,  unaided  by  outsiders,  do  the  work  which  will  justify  its 
continued  life  and  existence.  If  it  cannot  do  this,  it  had  better  dis- 
solve. The  basis  of  the  Congress  should  be  made  financially  sound. 
The  Committee  has  made  this  recommendation  after  mature  discussion 
and  consideration,  extending  back^  in  fact,  through  many  years. 

In  adopting  this  plan  we  are  not  entirely  alone.  There  are  other  or- 
ganizations which  have  adopted  a  similar  plan  whereby  corporations  are 
admitted  to  subscribing  membership.  The  proposition  is  not  really  to 
ask  a  membership  subscription;  it  is  rather  one  to  gain  subscriptions 
to  defray  the  costs  of  publication  and  other  work  of  the  Congress.  The 
corporation  official  who  is  interested  in  this  work  will  individually  be- 
come a  member  and  have  a  vote.  If  the  President  of  any  corporation  is 
interested  sufficiently,  he  can  become  a  member  and  will  then  have  a 
vote.  Mining  engineers  might  become  members,  but  I  do  not  think  this 
organization  appeals  to  the  mining  engineer  sufficiently  to  enroll  a  num- 
ber of  engineers. 

MR.  BO  LAND:  I  should  like  to  say  one  word  in  reply 
to  this  gentleman.  As  an  argument  it  does  not  appeal  to  me  as 
consistent,  for  the  reason  that  he  asks  a  corporation  to  contribute 
to  this  organization  and  yet  denies  the  corporation  the  right  to  exercise 
the  great  power  back  of  this  organization. 

I  want  to  say  from  my  own  personal  experience  that  I  would  much 
rather  have  a  man  like  Mr.  Richards  a  member  of  this  organization  than 
any  subordinate  he  might  substitute.  I  would  rather  have  a  man  like 
Mr.  Ross,  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson.  Every  member  who  has  a  part 
in  the  existence  of  this  organization  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  this  or- 
ganization, and  when  you  put  a  cloud  over  the  corporation  you  im- 
mediately create  a  suspicion  that  there  is  something  wrong  in  the  cor- 


84  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

poration.  That  you  ought  to  remove,  gentlemen.  You  want  to  invite 
the  corporations  into  a  different  atmosphere  from  the  one  which  they 
are  traveling  and  let  them  get  the  views  of  the  little  fellow  as  well  as 
the  big  fellow  and  rind  out  what  the  situation  is  today.  They  are  the 
men  who  can  change  the  situation,  and  they  ought  not  to  transfer  it 
to  subordinates  or  corrupt  politicians  and  have  men  pass  it  and  know 
nothing  about  the  conditions,  and  allow  themselves  to  stand  to  one  side 
and  see  their  rights  taken  away  from  them. 

I  believe  today  that  sixty  per  cent  of  the  corporations  are  all  right 
if  you  give  them  an  opportunity  to  be  heard,  but  let  us  invite  them  in 
and  not  debar  them.  Do  not  ask  them  to  contribute  money  and  then 
deprive  them  of  a  vote.  This  is  a  land  of  taxation,  not  taxation  without 
representation.  Right  here,  across  the  road,  at  the  old  Liberty  Hall, 
they  opposed  taxation  without  representation,  and  I  say  to  this  body  of 
intelligent  men  that  they  ought  to  substitute  another  measure  or  an- 
other resolution  or  a  paragraph  that  would  eliminate  that  taxation  with- 
out representation. 

DR.  CHANCE:  I  would  like  to  ask  the  gentleman  if  he  knows  of 
any  organization  that  admits  members  of  this  class. 

MR.  BOLAND:  I  will  answer  you  in  this  way — that  today  con- 
ditions are  different  from  what  they  have  been  in  fifty  years.  We  are 
doing  things  today  that  they  had  not  done  fifty  years  ago.  If  we  have 
been  making  mistakes  for  fifty  years,  we  ought  to  correct  them.  I  be- 
lieve the  corporations  coming  in  here  to  represent  them  would  send 
their  very  best  men.  They  are  picking  out  today  men  of  character  and 
brains,  and  they  have  the  confidence  of  the  people.  All  good  men  that 
I  know  are  connected  with  the  corporations.  Let  us  talk  heart  to 
heart.  Do  not  be  afraid.  There  is  nothing  to  fear. 

A  DELEGATE:  I  would  like  to  say  that  Mr.  Richards  is  a  member 
of  this  association,  and  he  is  also  a  Director,  and  any  Director  or 
President  of  any  corporation  has  that  same  power. 

MR.  BOLAND:  I  will  say  Mr.  Richards  is  debarred  in  one  meas- 
ure and  admitted  in  another.  I  want  to  eliminate  that  if  I  can. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     Are  you  ready  for  the  question? 

Motion  put  and  carried. 

DR.  CHANCE:  I  have  a  motion  to  make  in  the  form  of  a  resolu- 
tion that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  by  the  President  to  draft  an 
amendment  to  the  by-laws  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  to  provide 
for  subscribing  memberships  in  accord  with  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means  and  that  such  an  amendment  be  submitted  to  the 
members  for  adoption. 

Seconded. 

Motion  carried. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  would  like  a  little  time  to  think  over  who 
to  appoint,  and  will  make  the  announcement  before  the  close  of  the 
meeting.  We  will  now  hear  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

THE  SECRETARY:  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen,  the  Resolu- 
tions Committee's  report  will  take  quite  a  little  time,  probably  all  the 
morning  session.  Secretary  of  Labor  Wilson  is  here  ready  to  address 
us  on  the  subject  of  "Arbitration"  and  is  going  to  stay  over  until  to- 
morrow, so  he  can  deliver  his  address  just  as  well  this  afternoon  as  in 
the  morning  if  we  prefer  that.  We  ought  to  have  a  suggestion  as  to 
when  we  will  hear  Mr.  Wilson. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     What  is  your  pleasure,  gentlemen? 

Moved  that  Secretary  Wilson  be  heard  at  the  present  time  if  he  is 
ready. 

Seconded.     Carried. 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  85 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you 
Secretary  William  B.  Wilson,  of  the  Department  of  Labor  in  Wash- 
ington, who  will  deliver  an  address  to  us  on  " Arbitration  as  a  Factor  in 
the  Mining  Industry." 

Secretary  Wilson's  address  will  be  found  on  page  274  of  this  report. 

MR.  C.  E.  MAURER,  Cleveland,  Ohio:  I  am  glad  to  say  I  have 
made  the  same  argument  that  Mr.  Wilson  has  made  this  morning  a 
great  many  times  in  these  trade  meetings.  That  is,  the  relationship 
between  organized  labor  and  employes  must  be  treated  as  a  partner- 
ship. Now  the  question  I  want  to  ask  is  what  should  be  the  basis  of 
agreements  so  entered  into. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  The  basis  to  begin  with  is  to  mutually 
meet  and  mutually  discuss  in  order  that  each  may  mutually  understand  the 
other's  differences.  Each  individual  case  under  such  discussion  will  have 
to  be  treated  as  the  particular  incidents  in  the  case  may  require.  There 
are  no  two  situations  that  are  exactly  alike.  The  basis  of  it  all  is  get 
together.  Find  out  each  other's  difficulties,  and  then  out  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  each  other's  difficulties  work  out  the  problem  on  the  basis  that 
is  equitable  to  all  concerned. 

MR.  MAURER:  That  is  not  the  point.  The  point  I  am  getting 
at  is  this:  What  should  be  the  basis  of  the  wage  agreement? 

SECRETARY  WILSON:     From  that  you  mean  the  amount? 

MR.  MAURER:  Here  is  a  partnership,  on  one  side  labor — the 
employe;  on  the  other  side  the  employer.  Now  when  they  attempt  to 
arrive  at  the  basis  of  the  agreement,  wage  agreement,  upon  what  basis 
would  the  wage  be  determined  in  this  partnership. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  That  is  problematical.  The  first  basis 
should  be  as  near  as  possible  to  a  living  wage  for  the  workmen.  The 
standard  of  living  is  as  I  have  stated  a  flexible  proposition,  an  indeter- 
minate thing,  but  it  should  be  as  far  as  possible  a  living  wage  for  the 
workman  according  to  American  standards.  It  may  not  even  be  that 
to  begin  with,  because  of  this.  You  find  in  one  part  of  the  country  a 
condition  where  the  wages  have  been  forced  down,  and  consequently 
the  cost  of  production  is  lower  than  elsewhere.  In  collective  bargaining 
both  sides  have  to  take  into  consideration  the  competitive  relationship 
between  the  employers.  In  the  other  field  where  they  are  producing 
coal  under  low  wages  those  wages  may  be  such  as  not  to  enable  the 
workmen  to  secure  a  sufficient  amount  to  attain  what  I  recognize  as  the 
American  standard  of  living.  That  would  have  an  effect  on  the  fields 
where  collective  bargaining  is  engaged  in.  There  is  a  point  beyond  whicTT 
in  the  negotiations  the  workmen  cannot  force  the  employers  to  go  with- 
out injury  to  themselves.  If  they  insist  on  too  much  they  would  drive 
their  employers  out  of  business  and  themselves  out  of  work.  The  selfish 
part  comes  in  there.  If  they  force  wages  and  conditions  beyond  a  certain 
point,  with  the  employers  they  are  negotiating  with,  the  other  employers 
would  secure  the  business.  So  those  matters  are  matters  which  have  to 
be  threshed  out  in  each  individual  case  as  it  comes  up  for  consideration. 

MR.  MAURER:  I  think  you  understand  my  question.  Should  not 
the  wages  be  based  on  the  commodity  they  produce — its  competitive 
value. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:     Only  partly  so. 

MR.  MAURER:     Then  it  is  not  a  partnership? 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  Yes,  it  is  a  partnership,  but  like  all 
partnerships  all  the  elements  in  the  partnership  have  to  be  taken  into 
consideration.  You  cannot  consider  the  proposition  solely  from  one 
phase  of  the  partnership  and  arrive  at  a  correct  basis,  you  must  take 
into  consideration  all  the  phases  in  the  partnership  in  order  to  arrive 
at  a  correct  basis.  Whatever  the  product  brings  in  the  market  is  the 
amount  divisible  by  the  partners.  Now  that  you  have  found  your  sum 


86  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

total  the  question  is  what  portion  of  it  should  go  to  the  employers  and 
what  portion  to  the  employes.  But  behind  that  is  another  problem. 
The  workman  while  a  partner  in  the  business  is  not  the  selling  partner, 
he  is  the  producing  partner,  the  other  partner  is  the  selling  partner. 
The  producing  partner,  who  has  to  share  this  amount  that  is  to  be 
jointly  divided  between  them  has  a  right  to  know  if  there  is  any 
possible  means  by  which  that  sum  total  can  be  increased,  so  that  he, 
who  is  a  producing  partner  may  have  a  larger  amount  as  his  share  for 
production.  That  element  also  comes  into  consideration,  so  that  there  is 
not  only  the  competitive  relationship,  but  all  of  the  other  relationships 
in  the  partnership  that  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration. 

MR.  MAURER:  Does  not  competition  fix  the  value  of  the  com- 
modity. You  must  take  this  into  consideration.  The  employer  has  to 
meet  the  competitive  prices  in  all  other  fields;  by  the  laws  of  this  country 
and  the  several  States  he  is  prevented  from  combining  or  co-operating 
to  protect  himself,  and  yet  he  is  dealing  with  an  aggregation  that  is 
combined,  and  therefore  in  the  end,  in  case  he  cannot  protect  himself, 
you  can  see  the  propriety  of  the  quotation  you  made  a  few  moments 
ago,  "He  who  has  power  takes."  It  is  the  combined  power  that  takes. 
Look  at  the  history  of  coal  production  in  the  competitive  States.  Since 
1908,  when  our  wage  agreement  went  into  effect,  the  miners'  wages  have 
been  increased  practically  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and  yet  the  result  in 
the  competitive  States  shows  there  has  been  an  absolute  loss,  absolutely 
no  return  for  capital  invested,  so  that  combined  power,  combined  labor, 
got  one  hundred  per  cent,  increase,  but  capital,  prevented  by  legislation, 
from  even  co-operation,  has  got  the  worst  end  of  the  bargain  and  has 
suffered  a  loss.  Now  isn't  that  true? 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  I  would  not  admit  the  latter  part  of 
it — has  suffered  a  loss.  As  far  as  my  information  goes  the  profits  in 
the  bituminous  coal  fields,  in  the  central  competitive  fields,  are  as  great 
or  greater  now  than  they  were  before  collective  bargaining  begun.  The 
development  has  been  greater.  Reinvestments  have  been  immense  in  the 
bituminous  coal  fields,  so  that  I  would  not  admit  that  the  profits  have 
declined  in  the  bituminous  coal  fields,  but  here  is  a  proposition  that 
undoubtedly  would  have  to  be  considered  in  any  such  conference.  I 
have  stated  that  the  producers  in  any  industry  are  living,  moving  sentient 
beings.  They  must  have  shelter,  clothing  and  food.  Those  are  elemen- 
tary needs.  The  cost  of  all  of  those  things  has  very  materially  increased. 
Now  that  is  true  also  to  a  limited  extent  of  capital.  There  are  some 
things  in  capital  where  the  cost  has  not  increased  materially,  there  are 
some  things  in  which  the  cost  has  increased  materially.  Those  are  things 
which  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration. 

MR.  H.  E.  WILLARD,  Cleveland,  Ohio:  Don't  you  think  that  the 
employer  who  employs  this  labor — that  is  the  organized  labor — ought 
under  the  laws  to  be  entitled  to  the  same  rights  and  the  same  protection 
as  the  laborer;  that  we  ought  to  have  the  right,  within  reasonable  bounds, 
to  co-operate  and  protect  ourselves. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  There  must  be  bounds.  Labor  is  a 
part  of  man;  capital  is  that  which  has  been  produced  before  and  which 
has  not  yet  been  consumed.  They  are  two  entirely  different  proposi- 
tions. There  might  very  properly  be  a  combination  of  men  for  their 
own  protection,  where  there  might  not  properly  be  a  combination  of 
capital.  An  employer  is  a  man  who  utilizes  capital  in  his  business,  and 
by  the  utilization  of  that  capital  in  his  business  he  is  able  to  employ 
others  to  assist  him  in  the  conducting  of  his  business.  Now  what  he  is 
dealing  with  is,  first,  capital,  and,  second,  men.  He  is  dealing  with  two 
different  elements.  Capital  which  is  a  product  of  man,  and  men  which 
is  the  product  of  a  Higher  Power.  Those  who  are  themselves  a  product 
of  that  Higher  Power  may  very  properly  unite,  but  to  unite  that  which 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  87 

is  a  product  of  man  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the   situation,  the 
commercial  situation,  would  be  an  entirely  different  problem. 

MR.  WILLARD:  Do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  purpose  of 
control  is  conservation,  and  competition  in  our  natural  resources  does 
not  conserve  them,  does  it?  I  am  referring  to  the  coal  industry.  You 
cannot  conserve  without  co-operation. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  That  is  true  in  a  very  great  many 
instances.  You  must  have  co-operation  in  order  to  conserve.  There 
are  many  conditions  which  arise  as  a  result  of  competition  in  the  coal 
mining  industry  by  which  a  vast  amount  of  values  are  lost  to  the  public 
forever.  For  instance,  a  man  has  a  coal  operation  where  some  of  his 
coal  is  difficult  of  access,  difficult  to  mine,  costly  to  get  out.  Another 
portion  of  his  coal  may  be  easier  of  access,  cheaper  to  get  out.  He 
has  to  meet  competitive  conditions.  He  has  to  take  that  which  he  can 
mine  and  meet  the  competitive  conditions,  and  leave  that  which  he 
cannot  mine  and  meet  the  competitive  conditions.  That  is  a  condition 
which  is  more  or  less  peculiar  to  such  industries  as  the  mining  industries. 

MR.  WILLARD:  Isn't  it  a  fact,  Mr.  Wilson,  that  there  are  four 
elements  that  enter  into  the  production  and  selling  of  coal;  first,  capital, 
then  labor,  then  transportation,  and  the  man  who  pays  the  bill  is  the 
public  consumer. 

Now,  I  have  listened  to  your  able  argument  about  two  subjects, 
capital  and  labor,  embracing  the  important  part  of  how  much  of  the 
selling  price  the  operator  gets  to  divide  with  the  wage-earner. 

How  in  the  name  of  common  sense  can  the  wage-earner  ask  the 
operator  to  contribute  that  which  he  does  not  get?  You  people  have  lost 
sight  of  the  invisible  power  which  takes  all  of  the  profit  and  leaves 
nothing  for  the  operator  to  divide  with  the  wage-earner.  And  you  hold 
the  operator.  You  get  a  rope  around  his  neck,  the  labor  union  at  one 
end  and  the  railroad  men  at  the  other  end,  and  there  is  nothing  left  for 
the  operator  but  destruction. 

Now,  I  believe  these  two  great  bodies  working  together  for  the 
betterment  of  these  conditions  ought  to  look  around  and  find  the  other 
cause  of  all  this  trouble.  You  have  a  CommissiotPnow  in  Washington. 
God  bless  them!  They  are  the  only  salvation  that  this  country  has  got 
to-day  in  my  estimation,  and  they  are  trying  to  find  out  the  true  facts 
and  allow  the  men  that  deserve  a  reasonable  profit  to  get  that  profit 
out  of  the  railroad,  but  not  destroy  the  operator  and  change  the  white 
man  into  the  black  man,  making  a  slave  of  him  by  taking  all  there  is 
in  the  business  away  from  him. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  That  is  one  of  the  elements  that  clearly 
demonstrates  the  necessity  of  employer  and  employes  threshing  out 
those  problems — the  amount  that  an  employer  has  to  pay  in  trans- 
portation to  get  his  product  to  the  market,  as  compared  to  what  another 
employer  has  to  pay  to  get  his  to  the  market.  That  should  be  dealt 
with  in  mutual  conference.  As  to  whether  that  rate  in  every  case  is 
unjust  or  not  unjust  is  a  matter  that  can  be  very  properly  dealt  with 
by  our  Federal  Government.  I  would  not  like  to  undertake  to  say  that 
a  rate  is  unjust,  that  a  rate  is  selfish,  that  the  railroad  is  securing 
without  first  going  into  an  examination  of  all  the  factors  that  go  to 
make  up  its  cost,  and  all  the  factors  that  have  gone  to  make  up 
its  investments.  Having  a  knowledge  of  what  the  factors  were 
that  made  up  its  investments,  its  cost  sheets  and  then  what  its  earn- 
ings were,  I  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  say  whether  or  not  the 
rates  asked  were  excessive,  but  in  the  meantime  while  that  information 
is  being  made  available  there  is  no  reason  in  my  judgment  why  the 
employe  and  employer  should  not  get  together  and  work  their  problems, 
out  on  the  basis  of  the  information  they  have. 


88  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

MR.  WILLARD:  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Wilson,  when  the 
employer  and  employe  have  met,  consulted  and  agreed,  and  a  contract 
has  been  entered  into  by  both  parties  and  signed,  I  would  like  to  ask 
you,  Mr.  Wilson,  in  the  light  of  your  experience  what  would  you  suggest 
as  a  remedy  for  the  enforcement  of  that  contract,  for  the  protection 
of  the  employer  whose  limit  of  margin  when  he  went  into  the  contract, 
known  to  the  entire  community  and  country,  is  so  small  that  the  slightest 
interference  or  deviation  from  the  execution  of  that  contract  would 
wipe  it  out?  What  could  you  suggest  to  us,  as  employers,  to  remedy 
a  violation  of  that  contract  by  either  party  while  it  is  in  existence? 
What  is  the  reason?  There  must  be  a  good  reason  why  organized  labor 
objects  to  the  control  by  the  Government,  either  State  or  national,  of 
its  contracts.  On  what  grounds  does  organized  labor  ask  for  immunity 
from  prosecution.  There  are  many  of  us  in  the  country  that  hear  of 
these  things  at  Washington.  We  read  them  in  the  newspapers.  We 
don't  get  the  information  at  close  hand. 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  While  it  is  not  pertinent,  I  have  no 
hesitancy  in  discussing  this  question.  To  begin  with,  in  reply  to  your 
first  question,  I  know  of  no  remedy,  except  the  moral  influence  that 
may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  situation.  Unfortunately,  it  has  been 
true  that  both  employers  and  employes  have,  after  having  entered  into 
time  contracts,  violated  those  contracts.  Employers  sometimes  violate 
contracts  on  the  grounds  that  market  conditions  have  changed  since 
the  contracts  were  entered  into,  and  that  they  are  no  longer  in  position1 
to  pay  the  rates.  Workmen  violate  the  contracts  for  a  number  of 
reasons.  Fortunately,  those  instances  are  not  numerous,  but  they  exist 
in  the  very  nature  of  a  wage  contract.  The  employer  may  be  a 
corporation  or  an  individual,  and  yet  a  wage  contract  is  not  legally 
binding  upon  that  individual  or  corporation.  There  is  nothing  in  any 
wage  contract  that  can  be  made  or  put  into  the  contract  that  will  say 
to  the  employer  that  you  must  give  three  hundred  days'  work  per  year, 
or  a  hundred  and  fifty  days'  work  a  year  to  your  employes.  It  simply 
provides  a  given  rate  if  the  services  are  needed.  When  an  employer 
decides  to  end  the  contract  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  close  down  the  works 
until  the  necessities  of  the  employes  compel  them  to  accept  a  new  con- 
tract upon  a  new  basis.  There  is  no  power  that  can  be  placed  in  the 
contract  that  will  compel  the  individual  workman  to  work  against  his 
will,  so  the  wage  contract  entered  into  between  employer  and  employe 
is  a  contract  made  by  both  in  a  spirit  of  honor  that  makes  it  binding 
upon  each. 

My  experience  has  been  that  very  generally  that  spirit  of  honor 
has  been  lived  up  to  by  both  employer  and  employes.  After  the  con- 
tracts were  made  as  a  rule  they  are  honorably  lived  up  to.  I  know 
of  no  manner  in  which  you  can  get  away  from  that  situation.  I  cannot 
conceive  of  a  method  by  which  it  can  be  made  legally  binding  upon 
either  side. 

The  other  phase  which  is  not  pertinent  to  the  discussion  we  have 
here  is  suggested  in  a  statement  I  made  a  few  minutes  ago,  that  labor 
power  is  a  part  of  man.  It  cannot  be  controlled  by  any  outside  man 
or  force  without  controlling  the  man  himself.  The  moment  the  labor 
power  leaves  the  individual,  it  is  no  longer  labor  power,  it  is  a  product 
of  labor,  and  when  you  pass  laws  that  are  meant  to  prevent  combines 
in  restraint  of  trade  it  is  the  products  of  labor  and  not  labor  itself  that 
is  meant  to  be  covered. 

MR.  WILLARD:  One  more  question.  Can  the  man  who  is  an 
employe  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  labors  commit  no  wrong  against 
the  community? 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  Oh,  no,  it  simply  presupposes  this. 
That  which  is  not  considered  a  wrong  for  one  person  to  do  is  not  to 
be  considered  a  wrong  for  a  number  of  persons  to  do  in  dealing  with 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  89 

the  disposal  of  their  own  labor  power.  The  only  exemption  that  has 
been  asked  is  that  in  these  associations  they  shall  not  be  prosecuted  for 
that  which  does  not  otherwise  constitute  a  crime  when  done  by  an 
individual.  In  other  words,  it  is  not  a  crime  to  associate  for  the 
accomplishment  of  a  proper  purpose  in  a  proper  way,  or  a  legal 
purpose  in  a  legal  way.  (Applause.) 

MR.  ARTHUR  H.  STORRS,  Scranton,  Pa.:  I  would  like  to 
make  a  few  observations  as  to  the  effects  of  what  I  believe  has  been 
the  greatest  arbitration  problem  that  the  country  has  ever  had  in  the 
coal  fields.  At  least,  that  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields,  and  I  would 
preface  my  remarks  by  saying  that  I  have  absolutely  no  interest  in 
any  anthracite  operation. 

I  think  the  anthracite  industry  has  been  benefited,  both  as  to  the  em- 
ployer and  the  employe,  but  I  think  carrying  out  Secretary  Wilson's  idea 
of  a  partnership  has  failed  to  result  in  a  smooth  working  partnership, 
and  that  possibly  because  of  the  fact  that  the  partnership,  instead  of 
being  a  straight  partnership  is  one  in  which  there  is,  you  might  say,  a 
sub-partnership  on  the  one  side  composed  of  many  elements.  No 
man,  as  has  been  stated,  would  be  compelled  to  work  if  he  does  not 
like  the  conditions.  The  award  of  the  Commission,  as  it  has  been 
subsequently  worked  out  has  been  with  the  employer,  who  is  compelled 
to  observe  the  award  of  the  Commission,  and  the  subsequent  award 
of  the  Board  of  Conciliation,  or  go  out  of  business.  On  the  other 
hand,  any  employe  who  is  not  satisfied  with  the  award  of  the  Board 
of  Conciliation  or  the  Board  of  Arbitration  may  move  and  secure 
employment  elsewhere.  The  prevailing  scarcity  of  labor  makes  it  an 
easy  matter,  in  an  extreme  case,  to  take  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  men  at 
any  colliery  who  become  dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  Board  of 
Conciliation,  and  they  are  at  liberty  to  move  on  and  find  other  employ- 
ment. The  operator  cannot  move  on,  he  cannot  secure  men  from  any 
other  field.  The  union  men  will  not  come  to  take  their  places.  An 
instance  of  this  has  been  brought  to  my  attention  where  the  refusal  of 
one  man  to  pay  his  union  dues  tied  up  the  colliery  for  over  a  week,  a 
matter  over  which  the  operator  had  absolutely  no  control.  Now  the 
employer  must  suffer  for  that  one  thing,  and  it  is  absolutely  unfair,  it 
seems  to  me.  I  know  of  no  way,  as  the  gentlemen  has  just  said,  by 
which  this  can  be  controlled,  but  that  seems  to  be  the  weak  element 
of  the  partnership. 

,  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Wilson  what  is  the  objection  to  the  incor- 

poration of  the  labor  union,  where  the  action  of  the  local  or  district 
as  it  may  be  results  in  absolute  loss  or  damage  to  the  employer? 

SECRETARY  WILSON:  The  objection  to  the  incorporation  of 
a  trade  union  is  because  of  the  physical  condition  under  which  wage 
contracts  are  made,  which,  if  the  trade  unions  were  incorporated,  would 
make  trade  unions  subject  to  damages  for  failure  to  live  up  to  the 
contract,  while,  as  I  have  stated,  the  individual  employer  or  the 
corporation  would  not  be  subject  to  damage  if  they  fail  to  live  up 
to  the  contract.  When  a  corporation  feels  that  it  can  no  longer  live 
up  to  the  contract  because  of  market  conditions,  or  for  any  other  reason, 
there  can  be  nothing  in  the  contract  that  would  compel  it  to  operate. 
I  know  of  no  way  in  which  you  could  put  any  clause  in  a  contract  that 
would  compel  an  employer  to  operate  when  he  did  not  want  to  operate. 
The  contract  simply  provides  that  he  agrees  to  give  certain  terms  when 
he  does  operate  so  that  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  concern  is 
incorporated  and  consequently  can  be  sued  for  violations  of  the  ordinary 
contract  it  cannot  be  sued  for  damages  for  shutting  down  its  plant.  It 
cannot  be  sued  for  damages  for  the  violation  of  the  contract,  because 
the  contract  itself  creates  a  basis  which  prevents  such  conditions  from 
arising. 


90  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

Now,  if  trade  unions  are  incorporated  and  they  enter  into  contracts 
by  which  they  work  at  a  given  rate  they  would  be  subject  to  suits  for 
damages.  In  other  words  if  they  are  incorporated  they  are  subjected 
to  suits  for  damages  whenever  the  contract  is  violated.  In  order  to 
avoid  those  conditions  trade  unions  have  refused  to  incorporate,  although 
some  of  our  courts  have  held  they  may  be  sued  without  being  incor- 
porated. This  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  Danbury  Hatters'  case, 
where  the  hatters'  union,  together  with  the  officers,  were  sued,  and 
the  court  held  that  voluntary  associations  of  that  kind  are  subject  to 
suits  for  damages.  That  is  the  fundamental  reason  why  trade  unions 
do  not  care  to  incorporate. 

MR.  STORRS:  Mr.  Wilson  has  also  stated  a  mutual  necessity 
of  both  parties  to  this  partnership — employer  and  employes.  They  are 
best  met  in  the  largest  possible  protection  for  a  given  amount  of  labor, 
and  yet  I  think  there  is  no  question  in  the  anthracite  field  but  what 
every  effort  of  the  union  to  limit  the  possible  output  which  labor  should 
give  to  the  possible  protection  of  every  form  of  contract,  which  in  the 
past  prevailed.  A  man  of  unusual  ability  was  able  to  buy  that  ability 
to  secure  a  large  return  in  the  form  of  wages.  This  has  been  discounte- 
nanced; in  fact,  forbidden  in  the  form  of  a  contract. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  I  am 
reluctantly  obliged  to  terminate  this  discussion.  The  Committee  to  draft 
amendments  to  our  by-laws  will  be  Dr.  H.  M.  Chance,  Eli  T.  Connor, 
J  Blair  Kennerly. 

Moved  that  a  vote  of  thanks  be  extended  to  Secretary  Wilson 
for  his  attendance  and  address  to  this  meeting. 

Seconded.     Carried. 

Secretary  reads  letter  from  Dr.  Holmes,  dated  San  Francisco, 
October  19th.  (Secretary  has  this  letter.) 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  that 
address  read  this  afternoon.  We  will  now  adjourn  the  meeting.  The 
report  of  the  Resolutions  Committee  will  be  in  special  order  this 
afternoon. 

FRIDAY,   OCTOBER  24,   1913. 
Afternoon  Session. 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  the  President. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  think  before  we  proceed  any  further  with 
the  business  of  the  convention  I  ought  to  make  an  announcement.  At 
the  meeting  of  your  Directors  last  night  officers  were  elected  for  the 
ensuing  year,  and  it  now  becomes  my  duty  and  privilege  to  transfer 
the  reins  over  to  my  successor.  The  past  year  has  been  one  of  pleasant 
associations,  and  while  we  have  not  succeeded  in  doing  all  that  we 
undertook  to  do,  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  in  the  work  the 
Congress  has  never  halted,  and  its  condition,  both  in  the  States  from 
which  we  hail  and  Washington  was  never  better  than  it  is  to-day.  This 
is,  however,  entirely  due,  almost  entirely,  to  the  strenuous,  able  and 
unselfish  efforts  of  our  able  Secretary  (applause),  and  to  him  must  be 
given  the  credit  for  everything  that  this  organization  has  been  able  to 
accomplish. 

We  would  be  able  perhaps  to  accomplish  more  if  it  were  not  for 
the  fact  that  we  are  all  very  apt  to  do  what  is  very  clearly  described  in 
the  slang  expression,  "Let  George  do  it."  Instead  of  doing  things  our- 
selves, we  hope  somebody  else  will  go  ahead  and  do  them.  That  is 
entirely  wrong.  I  can  illustrate  that  best  perhaps  by  a  little  incident 
that  occurred  in  Scotland  last  summer.  A  tourist  asked  a  Scotch  boy 
the  direction  to  a  certain  place,  and  the  boy  replied:  "You  go  down 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  91 

the  street  a  quarter  of  a  mile  and  turn  to  your  left,  then  you  go  an 
eighth  of  a  mile  and  you  come  to  a  minister,  a  signboard,  and  it  will 
point  the  way  you  should  go."  "Why  do  you  call  the  signboard  a 
minister?"  asked  the  tourist,  to  which  the  boy  made  reply,  "Because  the 
point  the  way  we  dinna  wan'  to  go  oursel's."  (Laughter.) 

I  would  like  to  see  every  member  of  the  Congress  lead  in  the 
direction  he  would  like  to  have  others  follow.  It  is  now  my  privilege 
to  introduce  to  you  your  new  President,  Mr.  Carl  Scholz,  of  Chicago. 
(Applause.)  I  will  ask  Mr.  Scholz  to  take  the  chair,  and  I  hand  him 
the  gavel. 

PRESIDENT  CARL  SCHOLZ:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: 
In  accepting  the  gavel  which  you  have  just  handed  me  I  want  to  express 
my  deep  appreciation  to  the  Directors  in  selecting  me  for  this  important 
position,  and  at  the  same  time  acknowledge  my  weakness  in  carrying 
out  the  work  you  have  asked  me  to  assume.  I,  myself,  know  best  how 
totally  unfit  I  am  to  step  into  the  shoes  of  such  an  able  man  as  has  just 
vacated  the  chair,  but  I  bespeak  your  hearty  co-operation,  and  hope 
that  with  the  help  given  me  my  own  inefficiency  will  become  less 
noticeable. 

Much  has  been  said  during  this  session  of  the  efforts  and  the  ability 
of  our  Secretary,  and  I  wish  to  say  now  that  I  believe  he  and  the  other 
officers  are  entitled  to  more  support  in  the  future  than  they  have  been 
given  in  the  past.  While  moral  influence  is  beneficial,  financial  assistance 
is  absolutely  important  to  conduct  and  enlarge  this  work. 

After  my  selection  as  President  was  made  known  to  me  last  night 
I  felt  that  it  might  be  necessary  for  me  to  prepare  an  inaugural  address, 
but  since  there  are  so  many  matters  to  be  discussed  I  will  not  take  up 
the  time  to  say  anything  now  but  bespeak  your  hearty  co-operation  in 
the  work  of  this  Congress.  Again  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  conferred 
on  me,  and  hope  that  when  my  year  of  office  ends  we  will  have  accom- 
plished something  we  will  not  be  ashamed  of. 

The  Committee  on  Resolutions  will  now  make  its  report. 

MR.  TAYLOR,  Chairman:  Gentlemen,  we  have  still  before  us 
for  consideration  several  resolutions  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  agree 
upon.  It  may  be  possible  that  we  may  have  to  bring  them  out  on  the 
floor  of  the  convention  a  little  later,  but  I  am  bringing  to  you  the 
resolutions  which  we  have  already  agreed  upon,  and  we  will  make  an 
additional  report  a  little  later  on. 

Resolution  No.  2,  introduced  by  Mr.  D.  W.  Brunton. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  and 
I  therefore  move  its  adoption. 

Seconded.     Motion  carried. 

Resolution  No.  3,  introduced  by  Charles  K  Maurer,  of  Cleveland. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  passage  of  the  resolution  as 
introduced,  and  I  move  its  adoption. 

Seconded.     Motion  carried. 

Resolution  No.  4,  introduced  by  S.  A.  Taylor. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  and 
I  move  the  adoption  thereof 

Seconded.     Motion  carried. 

Resolution  No.  5,  introduced  by  H.  N.  Lowrie,  of  Portland. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  and 
I  move  the  adoption  thereof. 

Seconded.     Motion  carried. 

Resolution  No.  6,  introduced  by  Mr.  C.  K.  Maurer,  of  Cleveland. 

This  has  been  amended,  and  I  will  read  the  amended  resolution. 


92  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

Resolution  No.  6,  Introduced  by  C.  E.  Maurer,  of  Ohio. 

Whereas,  The  Federal  reports  show  the  deplorable  condition  of 
the  great  coal  industry  of  the  United  States  and  the  small  return  for 
the  investment,  as  indicated  by  a  paper  read  to  this  Congress  by  Edward 
W.  Parker,  Statistician  of  the  United  States  Geographical  Survey;  and 

Whereas,  Federal  and  State  laws  encouraging  competition  and  pre- 
venting reasonable  co-operation  among  those  engaged  in  the  production 
of  this  great  natural  resource  result  not  only  in  preventing  a  fair  return 
for  the  investment  of  capital  and  the  risk  involved,  but  in  most  cases 
allow  only  the  recovery  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  per  cent,  of  our  buried 
heat,  light  and  power,  the  balance  of  which  is  irretrievably  lost;  and 

Whereas,  These  laws  limit  the  surrounding  of  the  employes  engaged 
in  the  extremely  dangerous  occupation  of  mining  with  all  possible  safe- 
guards; therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
and  the  State  Legislatures  the  necessity  of  the  modification  of  the  so- 
called  "Anti-Trust"  laws  as  applied  to  our  natural  resources  in  order 
that  they  may  be  conserved  and  proper  safeguards  thrown  around  the 
employes;  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  this  resolution  and  the  address  of  Edward 
W.  Parker  to  this  Congress  be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  members  of  Congress  and  to  the  Governors  of  the 
respective  coal  producing  States  of  the  Union. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  passage  of  this  resolution  as 
amended,  and  I  move  its  adoption. 

Seconded.     Motion  carried. 

Resolution  No.  7,  introduced  by  William  Maloney,  of  Alaska,  has 
been  amended  as  follows: 

Resolution  No.  7,  Introduced  by  William  Maloney,  Nome,  Alaska. 

Whereas,  The  pioneers  of  Alaska  have,  for  many  years,  been 
appealing  to  the  Government  for  a  more  liberal  administration  of  the 
public  lands  or  for  some  new  legislation  which  would  permit  the  develop- 
ment of  Alaska's  resources; 

Whereas,  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  given  consideration 
to  these  appeals,  has  conducted  hearings  before  various  committees,  but 
thus  far  no  legislation  has  been  given  and  the  administration  of  the 
resources  of  Alaska  by  the  Federal  Government  has  brought  about  a 
stagnation  of  business,  discouraging  to  the  pioneers,  in  that  far-off 
territory  and  prohibitive  of  its  best  development;  and 

Whereas,  Bills  have  been  introduced  in  Congress  which,  in  effect, 
recognize  the  fact  that  the  construction  of  railroads  into  barren  and 
undeveloped  country  cannot  be  expected  except  by  the  utilization  of 
the  enhancement  of  values  of  its  natural  resources,  as  a  part  compensa- 
tion for  the  years  of  unprofitable  operation,  which  necessarily  accrue  in 
the  operation  of  a  railroad  in  an  undeveloped  country;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  American  Mining  Congress  in  Sixteenth  Annual 
Session  assembled  that  we  urge  upon  the  administration  of  the  Federal 
Government  the  best  redress  possible  under  the  present  laws  or  that 
such  laws  be  speedily  enacted,  that  private  capital  may  be  induced  to 
interest  itself  in  the  development  of  the  great  natural  resources  of  this 
territory. 

Your  Committee  recommends  the  adoption  of  this  resolution  as 
amended,  and  I  move  its  adoption. 

Seconded. 

MR.  RYAN,  ALASKA:  In  seconding  the  adoption  of  the  reso- 
lution proposed  by  Mr.  Maloney,  of  Alaska,  I  would  like  to  make  a 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  93 

few  remarks,  but  if  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  think  they  would  be  out  of 
order  at  this  time  I  shall  postpone  them  until  later  on.  I  will  not:  take 
over  ten  minutes. 

The  resolution  which  has  been  reported  by  the  Committee  and 
just  read  is  far  from  representing  my  views  and  the  views  of  many  others 
on  the  subject  matter  contained  therein.  It,  however,  has  the  virtue  of 
being  non-controversial.  The  American  Mining  Congress  has  seen  fit 
in  the  past  to  advocate  measures  which  have  not  had  the  unanimous 
support  of  Alaskans  by  any  means,  namely,  a  leasing  system  policy  for 
its  public  lands  and  the  government  ownership  and  operation  of  its 
transportation  system,  both  of  which  I  consider  socialistic  in  the  highest 
degree.  Any  suspicion  in  this  resolution  that  might  or  could  be  con- 
strued to  favor  such  policies  I  should  protest  against  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  my  power.  The  foundation  principles  of  socialism  is  govern- 
ment ownership  of  natural  resources  and  public  utilities  and  government 
operation  of  all  industries.  This  is  the  policy  subscribed  to  and  en- 
dorsed by  Messrs.  Fisher,  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Department; 
Gifford  Pinchot,  and  some  of  the  department  heads  in  Washington,  but 
not  yet,  thank  God,  by  the  National  Congress. 

A  word  concerning  Alaska's  conditions.  Dr.  Brooks  gives  the 
minimum  estimate  of  its  coal  resources  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  billion 
tons,  with  only  one-fifth  of  Alaska  geologically  surveyed  and  known. 
This  exceeds  the  original  supply  of  Pennsylvania,  and  as  yet  we  have 
to  burn  foreign  coal  and  California  oil. 

Senator  Shafroth,  of  Colorado,  when  speaking  yesterday,  resented 
in  the  strongest  terms  the  crime  committed  against  his  State  in  the  name 
of  law  by  the  Forest  Service  in  Washington,  i.  e.,  the  withdrawal  of 
public  lands.  He  told  you  gentlemen  that  fifteen  million  acres  of  the 
public  lands  of  Colorado  were  withdrawn  from  entry  and  so  from  State 
taxation. 

I  did  not  wish  to  interrupt  the  Senator  or  I  would  have  reminded 
him  of  the  fact  that  one  reserve  alone  in  Alaska  contains  fifteen  million 
acres  of  land,  namely,  the  Tongas  Reservation,  while  another,  in  which 
I  have  the  misfortune  to  reside,  contains  over  eleven  million  acres, 
namely,  the  Chugach  Reservation,  seven  millions  of  which  is  bare  of 
timber.  Mr.  George  E.  Baldwin,  of  Valdez,  speaking  before  your  Con- 
gress a  couple  of  years  ago  described  it  vividly.  The  Department  itself 
acknowledged  that  seven  million  acres  of  this  latter  reserve  contains 
no  timber,  and  these  are  only  two  of  the  many  reserves  in  that  much 
abused  territory. 

I  agree  with  the  Senator,  and  with  many  of  the  gentlemen  who 
have  spoken  here  of  the  unnecessary  interferences  from  many  of  the 
Bureaus  in  Washington,  and  I  believe,  like  a  great  editor  in  New  York 
expressed  himself,  that  if  a  few  desks  were  thrown  into  the  streets  of 
Washington  and  the  young  gentlemen  who  sit  at  them  were  sent  out 
to  the  fields  over  which  an  unwise  Congress  has  given  them  jurisdiction, 
conservation  might  once  more  command  the  respect  of  men  who  have 
seen  it  at  work. 

My  conviction  is  that  Alaska  contains  the  ore  and  coal  and  other 
resources  to  warrant  the  building  of  railroads,  and  if  our  Government 
will  take  the  lid  off,  so  that  capital  can  invest  with  reasonable  hope  of 
returns,  railroad  building  will  follow  as  a  natural  result. 

I  believe  in  the  greatest  men  for  the  greatest  things;  the  greatest 
opportunities  for  all  men.  the  greatest  liberty  for  the  greatest  achieve- 
ment for  any  and  every  useful  enterprise  with  no  obstructive  laws. 
We  are  legislating  for  little  things.  The  laws  of  nature  and  the  gifts 
of  God  call  for  legislation  that  shall  approach  the  magnitude  of  the 
things  to  be  done  by  men  great  enough  to  do  them.  I  have  nothing  but 
contempt,  derision  and  oblivion  for  all  yellow  liars  and  muckrakers,  if 
they  are  worth  the  expenditure  of  so  much  consideration. 


94  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

Compared  with  private  enterprise,  no  service  rendered  by  the  Gov- 
ernment pays.  None  is  conducted  so  economically,  nor  is  this  due  by 
any  means  to  difference  in  wages.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  expect  to 
secure  the  personal  interest  in  Government  service,  the  careful  curtail- 
ment of  expense  and  the  unfailing  watchfulness,  which  are  the  well 
recognized  essentials  of  success  in  private  business. 

Those  who  desire  to  adhere  to  the  socialistic  platform  have  every 
right  to  contend  for  its  establishment.  Those  who  believe  in  the 
individualistic  source  of  life  have  the  right  also  to  contend  for  its 
preservation.  The  United  States  has  grown  and  prospered  beyond 
every  nation  on  earth.  It  will  continue  to  grow  and  prosper  if  its  people 
will  continue  to  stand  firm  for  individualism. 

I  represent  on  the  floor  of  this  Congress,  directly  or  indirectly, 
over  twenty  millions  of  money,  excluding  the  Copper  River  and  North- 
western Railway,  now  invested  in  transportation  enterprises  in  Alaska. 
The  passage  of  any  legislation,  providing  for  government  ownership 
and  operation,  means  the  confiscation  of  tha,t  money.  In  my  own 
interests  in  the  territory  I  have  invested  thousands  of  dollars,  and 
stand  prepared  to  invest  millions  to  complete  the  necessary  transpor- 
tation lines  as  set  forth  by  me  before  the  Congressional  Committees, 
and  therefore  feel  that  I  am  justified  in  protesting  against  the  endorse- 
ment by  this  body  of  a  policy  such  as;I  have  described  and  which  to 
me  means  confiscation  pure  and  simple  and  the  driving  out  of  private 
capital,  not  only  for  the  development  of  her  transportation  lines  but 
her  mining  interests  as  well. 

Government  ownership  and  operation  of  our  railroads  and  telegraph 
lines  is  a  guaranty  of  bad  service  and  costly  management,  but  perhaps 
as  serious  a  menace  as  either  lies  in  the  political  phase  of  it.  It  is  not 
stepping  outside  the  limits  of  conservatism  to  estimate  the  railroad  and 
telegraph  employes  of  the  country  to-day  at  two  millions.  (See  I.  S.  C. 
Reports,  1911.) 

Would  the  politician  be  a  politician  if  he  did  not  court  and  fawn 
upon  such  a  source  of  political  control?  Would  not  the  politicians  who 
are  in  power  and  anxious  to  stay  in,  as  well  as  those  who  are  out  and 
anxious  to  get  in,  bargain  with  it,  agreeing  to  favor  legislation  to  further 
its  private  interests  in  exchange  for  its  support? 

Then,  too,  what  political  patronage  would  there  be  in  the  control 
of  a  government  payroll  twice  as  large  as  the  present  government 
expenditure.  Government  ownership  may  seem  to  some  the  solution 
of  a  few  of  the  problems  that  confront  us,  but  it  is  a  dream  that  would 
end  in  a  rude  awakening.  Nothing  could  be  more  destructive  to  the  rule 
of  the  people  than  the  creation  of  a  class  which,  by  itself,  is  able  to 
dictate  political  control  and  shape  legislation  not  for  the  general  good, 
but  to  serve  its  own  selfish  ends. 

We  have  an  example  of  this  in  the  advocates  of  the  present  bills 
before  the  Committees  in  Washington.  The  bills  have  not  as  yet  been 
passed  upon  by  the  United  States  Congress.  One  of  these  bills,  reported 
out  of  Committee,  provides  for  Government  ownership  and  operation 
of  our  transportation.  The  other,  not  as  yet  considered,  provides  for 
the  operation  of  our  utilities.  Therefore,  regret  to  see  the  slightest 
favor  by  this  Congress  towards  a  policy  which  has  not  been  discussed 
and  passed  upon  by  it,  and  which  I  do  not  believe  if  considered  on  this 
floor  would  receive  the  endorsement  of  the  members  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress  of  America.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  May  T  say  just  one  word  simply 
to  indicate  what  I  think  might  be  a  false  impression  to  be  gained  from 
the  remarks  just  made  that  the  American  Mining  Congress  once  advo- 
cated a  Federal  leasing  policy  for  the  control  of  the  coal  lands  for 
Alaska.  I  admit  the  truth  of  the  statement,  but  I  want  to  say  that  that 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  95 

policy  was  temporarily  approved,  because  at  that  time  it  was  believed 
to  have  the  approval  of  a  great  majority  of  Alaskans. 

It  was  thought  expedient  to  sacrifice  the  fundamental  principle  of 
our  Government,  and  the  theories  upon  which  its  prosperity  has  been 
established  in  order  that  the  resources  of  Alaska  might  be  temporarily 
opened  and  thus  bring  immediate  prosperity  to  that  territory.  It  was 
believed  that  if  that  policy  should  be  adopted  it  could  be  reversed  when 
the  nation  had  become  awake  to  the  fact  that  the  policy  was  wrong. 

I  trust  every  man  in  this  audience  will  use  his  best  endeavor  not 
that  the  best  thing  shall  be  done  for  Alaska,  but  that  something  shall 
be  done  for  Alaska.  (Applause.) 

MR.  RYAN:  What  the  Secretary  says  is  perfectly  true,  but  he 
must  not  forget  that  the  Alaskans  have  to  be  considered  in  the  matter, 
and  perhaps  the  Alaskans  might  prefer  to  remain  tied  up  for  a  few 
years  longer  until  they  are  able  to  manufacture,  with  your  help,  gentle- 
men, a  sentiment  of  right  and  nothing  but  right,  than  to  accept  a  cure 
such  as  is  proposed  by  the  leasing  system.  Alaska  should  not  be  treated 
differently  from  any  other  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  railroad  men  who  represent  the  present  investments  in  Alaska 
went  to  Washington  and  appeared  before  the  Senate  and  House  Com- 
mittees, and  showed  conclusively  that  they  were  prepared  to  extend 
their  railroad  lines  and  share  in  the  development  of  the  country.  When 
the  country  was  released  from  the  bondage,  that  Mr.  Pinchot  and  others 
have  put  upon  it,  under  the  name  of  conservation,  and  I  think  the  Secre- 
tary will  agree  with  me,  that  this  "bottled  up"  situation  was  created 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  forcing  on  us  some  such  tyrannical  proposition 
as  the  leasing  law,  and  government  ownership  and  operation  of  our 
utilities  and  industry.  They  want  to  try  these  new  theories  of  theirs 
on  "the  dog,"  but  we  men  who  went  into  Alaska  and  put  our  money 
there  in  good  faith  demand  a  square  deal.  We  are  to-day  like  some  of 
you  coal  people  in  the  East,  paying  "Irish"  dividends  owing  to  the  lack 
of  action  or  rather  inaction  at  Washington.  Any  man  who  is  helping 
and  advocating  the  theories  of  Mr.  Pinchot  in  what  he  calls  conserva- 
tion, and  is  ready  to  turn  the  country  over  to  their  socialistic  doctrines 
pure  and  simple,  is  no  friend  of  good  government.  There  is  no  excuse 
for  these  raiV  ad  hills  at  this  time.  They  are  bound  to  meet  with  the 
very  same  objection  on  the  floor  of  Congress  as  private  enterprise  has 
had  to  meet  in  the  bottling  up  of  coal,  etc.  First  release  the  territory's 
resources  and  take  the  lid  off,  and  see  if  private  capital  will  not  continue 
the  development  of  the  territory.  As  an  example  of  the  present  con- 
servation policy  are  you  aware  it  is  impossible  to  acquire  more  than 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  a  compact  body  in  Alaska  for  any 
commercial  enterprise  to-day,  such  as  smelters,  terminal  grounds,  etc.? 
You  are  limited  to  that  acreage,  and  around  that  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  there  is  a  Government  reserve  equal  to  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres.  This  is  the  construction  of  the  law  by  the  Department  in 
Washington,  and  Alaska  is  up  against  it.  Then  they  say  to  the  men 
who  have  already  invested  their  money  in  transportation:  "Why  don't 
you  fellows  go  ahead  and  build  railroads  as  you  say  you  can?"  Their 
answer  is:  "Restore  her  resources  to  development  and  watch  the  result." 
We  now  have  to  face  an  attempt  at  Government  ownership  of  our  rail- 
roads, but  if  you  gentlemen  of  this  Congress,  representing  the  great 
mining  industries,  will  show  to  the  National  Government  your  distrust 
in  any  such  a  policy  as  proposed  it  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  us  in 
Alaska  in  getting  sane  and  safe  legislation  for  our  territory. 
Resolution  No.  7  adopted. 

MR.  RYAN:  I  rise  to  a  question  of  information,  Mr.  Chairman, 
to  ask  why  the  Alaskan  Committee  is  not  represented  by  Alaskans. 
There  is  only  one  Alaskan  on  the  so-called  Alaskan  Committee,  an4 
I  want  to  say  in  all  kindness  to  the  gentlemen  who  compose  the 


96  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

American  Mining  Congress  that  Alaska  should  not  be  represented  in 
such  a  "carpet  bag"  way.  The  interests  of  Alaska  are  close  to  you,  just 
as  close  as  they  are  to  the  Alaskans,  and  I  am  sure  that  it  is  your 
wish  and  the  wish  of  the  Directors  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
to  have  the  Territory  of  Alaska  honestly  and  fully  represented  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Congress.  The  present  representation  has  caused 
a  great  deal  of  resentment,  which  does  not  redound  to  the  popularity 
or  to  the  standing  of  the  membership  of  this  body  as  it  ought.  We 
have  suffered  from  "carpet  bagism"  in  the  past  in  Alaska,  and  I  am 
sure  the  body  of  men  who  compose  this  Congress  do  not  want  to 
impose  it  any  further  on  Alaska.  I  do  not  know  how  the  present  Com- 
mittees are  made  up. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  I  would  suggest  that  the  paper  that  Dr.  Holmes 
has  prepared  be  read.  It  is  not  very  long,  and  there  have  been  several 
requests  that  it  be  read. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Before  calling  for  Dr.  Holmes'  paper  we 
will  have  the  Secretary  read  the  names  of  the  officers  elected  yesterday. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  May  I  first  say  one  word  in  regard 
to  the  Alaskan  situation,  The  Congress  has  a  rule  which  provides  its 
members  comprise  the  Committees.  I  think  the  Directors  have  tried 
to  select  for  their  Alaskan  Committee  the  men  near  Alaska  as  far  as 
it  is  possible  to  select  from  our  membership.  It  was  useless  to  select 
men  in  Nome  to  do  the  work  who  expected  to  remain  in  Nome.  The 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Legislation  has  been  a  member  of  that 
Committee  during  the  last  year,  and  other  members  of  the  Committee 
have  a  strong  interest  in  Alaska  or  a  residence  there,  and  were  as  nearly 
representative  of  Alaska  as  the  Directors  could  select  such  a  Committee. 
The  desire  is  to  make  the  Committee  as  thoroughly  representative  of 
Alaskan  interests  as  it  is  possible  to  do,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think 
it  is  impossible  to  get  any  Committee  that  would  possibly  agree  upon 
any  policy  of  that  description. 

MR.  RYAN:  I  do  not  wish  this  Congress  to  misinterpret  my 
meaning.  There  have  been  selfish  interests  represented  on  the  Alaskan 
Committee,  and  this  should  not  be  tolerated  by  the  American  Mining 
Congress.  Gentlemen  should  not  represent  as  a  Committee  of  the 
Mining  Congress  anything  to  the  detriment  of  our  country  at  Wash- 
ington. That  has  been  done  in  the  past,  and  necessarily  has  caused 
all  of  the  trouble  that  has  arisen. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  do  not  want  to  discuss  this 
question,  but  I  want  to  deny  the  statement  that  selfish  interests  have 
controlled  the  Alaskan  Committee.  If  there  is  in  all  this  world  a  man 
who  is  entitled  to  the  absolute  respect  of  every  fellow  citizen,  if  there 
is  a  man  in  all  this  world  in  whom  I  have  absolute  respect  as  to  his 
unselfish  desires  to  serve  Alaska  that  man  is  Mr.  Joslin,  and  he  has 
been  the  dominating  spirit  of  the  Committee  during  the  past  two  or 
three  years.  I  do  not  want  to  discuss  that  question,  but  it  is  not  fair 
to  say  that  Mr.  Joslin  has  been  using  the  Mining  Congress  for  selfish 
purposes. 

MR.  RYAN:  I  am  not  saying  anything  of  the  kind  in  regard  to 
Mr.  Joslyn.  There  are  others  on  that  committee. 

'SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  appreciate  that  fact.  I  am 
asked  to  announce  to  the  convention  the  officers  of  the  Congress  and 
Directors  for  the  ensuing  year: 

President,  CARL  SCHOLZ. 
First    Vice-President,    HENNEN    JENNINGS. 
Second  Vice-President,  M.  S.  KEMMERER. 
Third  Vice-President,  HARRY  L.  DAY. 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  97 

Directors. 

D.  W.  BRUNTON,  Colorado; 
GEO.  H.  BERN,  Utah; 

W.  G.  CONRAD,  Montana; 

JOHN  MAYER,  Missouri; 

HARRY  N.  TAYLOR,  Illinois; 

HENNE'N   JENNINGS,   Washington,    D.    C; 

W.  J.  RICHARDS,  Pottsville,  Pa.; 

E.  A.  MONTGOMERY,  California; 
M.  S.  KE'MMERER,  New  York. 

S.  A.  TAYLOR,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.; 
DR.  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  New  York; 
HARRY  L.  DAY,  Idaho; 
CARL  SCHOLZ,   Illinois. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Your  Committee  on  Resolutions  recommend  the 
passage  of  resolution  No.  8,  and  I  move  its  adoption. 

Resolution  No.  8,  Introduced  by  John  E.  Patton,  Tennessee. 

Whereas,  The  U.  S.  Internal  Revenue  Collectors  of  the  various  col- 
lection districts  have  placed  different  constructions  upon  the  Corporation 
Income  Tax  Law  as  regards  the  right  of  mining  companies  owning  their 
lands  in  fee  to  charge,  as  a  part  of  the  expense  of  production,  a  royalty 
or  depletion  charge;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved:  By  the  American  Mining  Congress  that  the  Treasury 
Department  be  petitioned  to  issue  uniform  directions  to  its  Collectors 
in  this  regard,  providing  that  a  definite  royalty  or  depletion  charge  be 
allowed  as  an  item  of  the  cost  of  production  in  arriving  at  the  net  income 
of  mining  companies  for  the  purpose  of  taxation. 

Motion  seconded  and  carried. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Your  committee  recommends  the  passage  of  Reso- 
lution No.  9,  and  I  move  its  adoption. 

Resolution  No.  9,  Introduced  by  R.  Dawson  Hall,  of  New  York. 

Resolved:  That  we  express  our  sympathy  with  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  those  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  terrible  explosion  in  the 
Dawson  mine,  and  that  we  join  with  the  officials  and  owners  of  the  Stag 
Canon  Coal  Company  in  regretting  that  all  their  efforts  and  forethought 
have,  in  some  unfortunate  and  inexplicable  manner,  been  rendered  of  no 
avail,  and  that  the  Secretary  communicate  the  matter  of  this  resolution 
to  the  proper  persons. 

Motion  carried. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  10,  introduced  by  the  Resolution* 
Committee. 

Resolution  No.  10,  Introduced  by  the  Resolutions  Committee. 

Whereas,  The  Sixteenth  Annual  Session  of  the  American  Mining 
Congress,  held  at  Philadelphia,  October  20  to  25,  1913,  has  resulted 
from  the  excellent  arrangement  made  for  the  sessions  and  from  the 
hospitality  extended  to  the  members  of  the  Congress  by  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved:  That  the  Congress  hereby  expressed  its  deep  apprecia- 
tion of  the  help  and  entertainment  extended  to  it  and  its  hearty  thanks 
to  all  concerned,  including  especially  the  local  committees  at  Philadel- 
phia, the  Press  and  the  citizens  generally,  with  special  praise  to  Messrs. 
E.  T.  Connor  and  Daniel  Whitney,  and  to  the  management  of  the 
Bellevue-Stratford  Hotel.  The  Congress  also  regrets  that  on  account 
of  the  illness  of  Mr.  E.  T.  Connor  he  was  unable  to  participate  in  the 
proceedings,  the  success  of  which  is  largely  due  to  his  personal  efforts. 

Motion  to  adopt  seconded  and  carried. 


o8  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Here  is  the  Resolution,  gentlemen,  No.  11,  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  John  R.  Burton,  New  York  City,  that  we  desire,  while  it  is 
part  of  a  Committee,  that  you  listen  to  its  reading:  "Whereas  discredit 
has  been  brought  upon  the  mining  profession  in  the  past  by  dishonest 
promoters  and  others  in  the  quotation  of  worthless  mining  securities,"  etc, 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Of  course,  in  my  position,  I  move  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution. 

Seconded:     Question. 

MR.  BRUNTON:  Before  adopting  this  resolution  I  would  like  to 
know  its  exact  purport. 

MR.  BURTON:  There  is  no  exact  purport,  except  to  throw  every 
safeguard  around  investments,  and  it  has  been  my  forte,  for  the  past 
four  years,  to  watch  mining  investments  and  promoters.  Through  my 
position  I  have  been  successful  in  throwing  a  number  of  them  in  jail, 
but  for  some  reason  they  come  back  after  serving  a  jail  sentence  and  go 
in  business  under  another  name.  I  believe  the  leopard  cannot  change 
his  spots,  and  I  want  to  keep  them  out  of  it.  I  believe  the  mining  busi- 
ness is  in  a  better  position  to-day  than  it  was  five  years  ago.  I  want 
to  keep  these  people  out  of  the  mining  business.  I,  myself,  am  not 
interested  in  mining.  My  profession  is  newspaper  work.  I  thought  this 
resolution  would  keep  them  out.  I  know  newspaper  men  would  be  very 
glad  to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  commence  a  prosecution,  which 
it  is  necessary  for  either  the  newspapers  or  the  Congress  to  do.  By  that 
I  mean  present  the  facts  to  the  Federal  Government.  They  will  take 
care  of  the  prosecutions  themselves. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     Any  further  remarks. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  I  do  not  want  to  appear  as  op- 
posed to  the  tenor  of  the  resolution,  but  I  fear  its  latter  part,  which  is 
intended  to  be  its  effective  part,  is  a  limitation  upon  a  certain  right, 
rather  than  an  extension  of  it.  It  is  now  within  the  power  of  any  mem- 
ber of  the  Mining  Congress  to  prefer  charges  against  any  other  member 
of  the  Mining  Congress  before  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  if  they  shall 
find  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  any  act  which  is  calculated  to  bring  dis- 
credit on  the  Mining  Congress,  and  shall  establish  that  fact,  the  Board 
of  Directors  has  power  to  expel  him  from  membership.  This  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  no  one  would  have  the  right  to  prefer  such  charges 
except  he  be  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Mining,  and,  therefore,  the 
tenure  is  to  restrict  this  right  to  the  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Mining  Investments. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  offer  an  amendment  to  that  resolution, 
providing  that  any  member  of  the  Congress  may  make  the  charge,  and 
refer  it  to  the  Resolutions  Committee. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  That  is  all  right;  is  now  provided 
for  by  our  By-Laws. 

MR.  BURTON:  I  have  been  trying  to  see  these  By-Laws,  but 
have  not  been  able  to  see  them. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     The  By-Laws  already  contain  that  provision. 

MR.  BURTON:     I  would  like  to  have  it  read. 

A  DELEGATE:     I  do  not  think  the  By-Laws  covers  that  point. 

MR.  JENNINGS:  As  I  understand  it,  the  passage  of  this  resolu- 
tion would  virtually  be  a  restriction.  I  make  the  point  that  no  resolution 
can  be  passed  which  has  the  effect  of  interfering  with  the  By-Laws  of 
the  Congress — an  amendment  to  the  By-Laws  must  take  another  course. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  A  Chairman  of  that  Committee  I  could  not  agree 
with  my  fellow-members,  but  I  believe  that  you  are  placing  an  undue — 
I  do  not  know  what  to  call  it— but  after  a  man  has  been  indicted  and 
served  a  term  in  jail,  you  are  going  to  put  a  ban  on  him  from  ever  be- 
coming an  honest  man  again.  You  know  men  have  been  indicted  and 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  99 

convicted  of  certain  things  where  there  was  no  moral  intention  of  doing 
wrong.     I  am  not  in  favor  of  it. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Secretary  has  gone  for  the  By-Laws 
now,  and  they  will  be  ready  in  a  moment.  I  do  not  believe  the  point  of 
order  has  been  well  taken.  I  will  suspend  this  until  after  the  By-Laws 
have  been  gone  over  upon  the  Secretarys  return.  We  will  proceed  with 
other  resolutions,  and  in  the  meantime  hold  this  on  the  table  to  save 
time. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  11  and  No.  15  are  very  much  of 
the  same  import,  and  as  we  have  passed  over  No.  11  and  laid  it  on  the 
table,  it  has  since  been  introduced  by  Sidney  Norman,  of  Spokane,  Wash., 
as  follows: 

Resolution  No.  15,  Introduced  by  Sidney  Norman,  Spokane,  Wash. 

It  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
American  Mining  Congress  should  take  such  steps  as  will  express  in 
unmistakable  terms  its  opposition  to  the  employment  by  any  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  association,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  any  man  who  has  been 
found  guilty  of  fraud  in  connection  with  the  handling  of  securities. 

This  resolution  has  been  approved  by  the  committee,  and  I  move 
its  adoption. 

Seconded;  carried. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  12,  introduced  by  Mr.  John  R. 
Burton,  of  New  York. 

Resolution  No  12,  Introduced  by  John  R.  Burton,  of  New  York. 

Whereas,  Legislation  affecting  the  issuance  of  securities  has  been 
passed  by  the  various  State  legislatures  during  the  past  year;  and 

Whereas,  A  number  of  brokers  who  have  been  selling  fictitious 
mining  stocks  to  the  public  have  been  indicted,  convicted  and  sentenced 
to  jail:  and 

Whereas,  Such  individuals  have  brought  the  promotion  of  mining 
stocks  into  disrepute  in  the  past  by  their  dishonest  methods  and  prac- 
tices; be  it 

Resolved:  That  a  committee  on  mining  investments  be  appointed 
by  the  American  Mining  Congress,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  watch  mining 
promoters  in  general  and  see  that  investors  are  correctly  informed  of 
the  men  and  mines  behind  a  scheme  that  looks  dishonest  or  appears  to 
be  fraudulent,  and  if,  upon  investigation,  the  committee  finds  that  fraud 
is  being  perpetrated  on  the  public,  thereby  bringing  discredit  on  the 
mining  profession,  the  chairman  of  this  committee  be  empowered  to  take 
such  legal  steps  as  he  deems  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  public 
and  bring  the  guilty  promoter  to  justice. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  This  resolution  has  been  passed  by  the  com- 
mittee, and  I  will  have  to  move  its  adoption. 

Seconded. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  If  this  resolution  is  passed  at  the  present  time  it 
necessitates  a  great  deal  of  money  to  carry  out  its  provisions.  It  pro- 
vides, among  other  things,  that  a  committee  on  Mining  investments 
shall  be  formed,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  watch  mining  promoters  in 
general.  Now,  that  may  be  a  very  easy  matter,  and  as  the  author  of 
this  resolution  stated  that  there  were  a  number  of  journals  that  would 
give  this  information,  yet,  if  the  Mining  Congress  were  charged  with 
this  duty,  it  must  first  ascertain  if  the  information  given  by  these  jour- 
nals is  correct.  What  does  that  mean?  It  means  somebody  must  spend 
a  great  deal  of  time  on  investigations;  that  we  shall  employ  some  one 
at  a  salary  which  we,  at  the  present  time,  are  not  in  a  position  to  pay. 
Further  than  that,  if  they  find  there  are  certain  fraudulent  schemes,  it 
makes  it  the  duty  of  the  committee  to  prosecute.  We  are  on  record  as 


loo  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

being  opposed  to  anything  of  this  kind.  Not  only  that,  but  we  are  in 
favor  of  and  have  advocated  the  passage  of  such  laws.  The  question 
resolves  itself  into  this:  that  we  have  never  been  in  a  position  to  take 
the  initiative,  insofar  as  the  prosecution  is  concerned,  for  the  reason  we 
have  not  the  money  to  do  that.  It  will  entail  upon  this  Congress  the 
employment  of  lawyers  and  engineers  to  ascertain  if  the  facts  are  true 
or  not  true,  all  of  which  takes  considerable  time,  and  this  Congress  has 
not  had  in  the  past  such  money  as  will  be  necessary,  nor  do  we  see  any 
future  possibilities  of  having  any. 

MR.  GRIFFITH:  This  subject  came  up  in  a  discussion  of  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  on  this  question,  and  it  was  their  idea  that 
this  matter  might  be  covered  without  any  resolution  here  at  all  by  sim- 
ply working  out  of  the  plan  adopted  by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee, 
providing  the  Assistant  Secretary  could  gather  statistics  and  all  sorts  of 
information  in  mining,  and  give  corporations  and  others  the  opportunity 
to  get  such  information  as  could  be  gathered,  not  only  from  public 
reports,  but  private  reports,  and  in  that  way  they  can  be  very  useful  in 
bringing  an  end  to  the  system  of  fraudulent  mine  promoters. 

MR.  BURTON:  I  would  like  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Congress  about  there  being  any  expense  attached  to  this 
whatsoever.  The  resolution  reads:  "Take  such  legal  steps,"  etc,  turn- 
it  over  to  the  post  office  authorities.  The  Government  acts  as  the 
prosecutor;  the  American  Mining  Congress  should  not  appear  as  the 
prosecutor  in  any  case,  yet  the  facts  of  a  fraudulent  scheme  should  be 
presented  to  the  Federal  authorities. 

MR.  JENNINGS:  I  am  not  in  perfect  accord  with  all  this  busi- 
ness. We  have  a  right  to  protect  the  public,  but  it  strikes  me  we  are 
going  beyond  our  province.  We  are  infringing  on  the  common  law,  and 
as  gentlemen  and  earnest  workers  we  assume  we  want  to  abide  by  the 
common  law  of  this  country,  and  when  a  person  is  convicted  under  the 
common  law  of  this  country,  I  do  not  see  any  reason  why  we  should  go 
outside  of  our  province. 

MR.  BRTJNTON:  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  most 
effective  way  in  which  we  can  aid  in  the  passage  of  laws  in  each  indi- 
vidual State  is  by  the  blue-sky  laws  of  Kansas.  Some  modification  of 
this  will  be  needed.  There  is  no  doubt  that  laws  can  be  passed  by  the 
different  States  which  will  absolutely  prevent  fraudulent  mining  promo- 
tions by  simply  making  promoters  responsible  for  statements  in  their 
circulars. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: 
I  would  like  to  give  briefly  a  history  of  the  efforts  of  this  organization 
in  this  direction.  This  is  not  a  new  subject  for  discussion,  and  for  the 
past  four  or  five  years  we  have  had  ample  discussion.  The  first  commit- 
tee on  this  subject  reported  at  the  Denver  convention  in  1906.  They 
recommended  what  was  known  as  the  "Pardee  Law."  Ex-Governor 
Pardee,  of  California,  was  the  chairman  of  our  committee.  The  "Pardee 
Law"  was  a  modification  of  the  California  law,  which  provided  that  any 
person  who  makes  a  misrepresentation  concerning  the  facts  relating  to 
a  mine  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  The  difference  between  that 
and  the  existing  law  is  this:  False  pretense  is  everywhere  punishable 
under  the  common  law,  but  to  convict  it  is  necessary  to  have  four  con- 
ditions prevail:  first,  that  there  must  be  a  misrepresentation;  second, 
that  the  misrepresentation  must  be  known  to  the  party  making  it;  third, 
the  party  to  whom  it  is  conveyed  must  believe  the  misstatements,  and 
fourth,  acting  upon  that  belief,  he  must  do  some  act  to  his  loss  or  dis- 
advantage. 

Now  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  all  four  of  those  conditions  at  the 
same  time,  and,  in  consequence,  it  has  been  very  difficult  to  convict.  In 
most  instances,  the  man  who  accepts  a  statement  concerning  a  matter 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  101 

of  which  he  knows  absolutely  nothing,  is  so  ashamed  of  his  loss  that  he 
will  pocket  his  loss  and  say  nothing  about  it.  He  will  not  prosecute. 
The  "Pardee  Law"  makes  the  man  who  publishes  the  misstatement 
guilty.  This  law  has  been  enacted  in  a  number  of  States  under  our 
special  direction  and  work,  and  we  have  hoped  to  have  it  passed  in  all 
States;  hoped  to  create  the  legal  agency  to  go  into  the  various  States 
with  a  view  of  assisting  the  local  prosecuting  attorney  in  procuring  con- 
victions under  that  law,  but  in  some  way,  like  many  other  good  things 
which  the  Congress  has  undertaken  to-day  we  have  not  been  able  to  do 
it.  Another  point  which  ought  to  be  referred  to  is  the  fact  that  the 
Secretary  was  instructed  by  the  Board  of  Directors  to  make  inquiries 
concerning  the  value  of  mines  or  of  mining  stocks,  and  to  get  such 
information  as  would  give  investors  an  idea  as  to  whether  the  investment 
was  wise  or  not.  We  spent  considerable  time  in  gathering  data  con- 
cerning various  mines,  and  had  a  report  on  more  than  five  thousand 
mines,  from  British  Columbia  to  Mexico;  and  when  an  inquiry  was  made 
— starting  with  the  information  at  hand — made  every  possible  effort  to 
discover  what  were  the  actual  conditions.  This  work  is  one  of  great 
importance  and  delicacy,  because  there  is  many  a  mining  proposition 
which,  on  its  face,  looks  perfectly  fair,  and  yet  which  is  extremely  fraudu- 
lent, and  again,  there  are  many  propositions  which,  on  their  face,  may 
look  unfair,  and  yet  when  you  get  to  the  real  conditions  the  operator  is 
simply  mistaken.  A  great  many  mining  enterprises  fail  not  because  of 
the  dishonesty  of  the  promoter,  but  because  of  the  fact  that  he  is  not 
able  to  secure  enough  money  to  prosecute  his  enterprise  to  its  com- 
pletion. 

If  it  is  necessary  to  drift  a  tunnel  one  thousand  feet  to  encounter 
a  certain  vein,  and  the  party  has  money  enough  to  drift  it  nine  hundred 
feet  only,  it  is  a  failure,  even  though  the  other  one  hundred  feet  would 
have  opened  a  valuable  ore  body.  Many  of  these  enterprises  fail  to  get 
sufficient  money  to  complete  their  work.  The  mining  business  requires 
higher  and  more  varied  scientific  knowledge  than  any  other. 

In  my  judgment,  the  general  enactment  and  enforcement  of  the 
so-called  "Pardee  Law,"  and  the  creation  of  an  agency  by  which  the  best 
possible  information  can  be  given  about  the  party  and  the  property  itself, 
would  do  most  toward  bringing  about  proper  conditions. 

What  we  need  is  such  publicity  that  will  put  all  the  conditions  under 
which  mining  profits  are  possible  before  the  public. 

If  you  are  foolish  enough  to  invest  where  you  understand  all  the 
conditions,  that  is  your  fault.  What  we  need  is  publicity.  What  we  need 
is  to  let  the  world  know  what  the  conditions  are.  If  you  are  willing  to 
invest  in  a  mine  when  you  know  all  the  conditions,  when  you  know  the 
man  who  is  asking  for  your  money  has  been  taking  the  money  of  others 
for  many  years  and  has  never  made  a  dollar  for  them,  that  is  your  fault, 
and  you  cannot  expect  protection,  but  you  have  a  right  to  expect  pub- 
licity. 

MR.  NORMAN:  Both  the  former  President  and  Secretary  Call- 
breath  have,  in  recent  discussion,  made  reference  to  the  efficacy  of  the 
Pardee  law  of  California  and  the  "Blue-Sky"  laws  of  various  other 
States.  I  should  like  to  ask  Mr.  Callbreath  if  he  knows  of  a  single 
conviction  in  the  State  of  California  under  the  Pardee  law. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:     I  do  riot  know  of  one. 

MR.  NORMAN:  And  I  do  not  believe  one  has  been  secured.  I 
was  a  resident  of  California  for  six  years,  engaged  most  of  that  time  in 
mining  journalism,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  bringing  into  court  three  of 
the  worst  fakirs  then  infesting  Los  Angeles.  Each  was  accused  under 
the  Pardee  law,  which  makes  such  offense  a  misdemeanor.  In  one  par- 
ticular case  promoters  had  been  guilty  of  putting  over  a  very  bad  propo- 
sition, printed  statements,  containing  the  alleged  misrepresentations, 


102      .  OFFICIAL    PROCEEDINGS 

having  been  sent  out  from  time  to  time  to  stockholders  of  the  company. 
These  printed  circulars  were  offered  in  evidence,  after  the  information 
they  contained  had  been  proven  false,  but  were  rejected  by  the  court 
for  the  reason  that  the  name  of  the  man  who  made  the  statements  was 
printed.  In  other  words,  it  was  held  that  it  was  impossible  to  secure 
conviction  unless  the  original  statement  were  placed  in  evidence  with 
the  original  signature  of  the  party  making  such  untrue  statements.  You 
will  thus  see  how  almost  impossible  it  is  to  secure  conviction  of  the  dis- 
honest promoter  under  the  Pardee  law  as  interpreted  in  this  case. 

So  far  as  the  "Blue-Sky"  laws  are  concerned,  you  all  know,  of 
course,  that  the  original  law  of  Kansas  is  so  framed  that  the  State  Bank 
Commissioner  has  absolute  say  as  to  any  security  offered  to  investors  in 
that  State.  The  bank  examiner  is  presumed  to  know  something  about  the 
banking  business,  and  is  doubtless  appointed  to  his  position  partially 
through  the  efforts  of  bankers.  We  all  know  that  bankers  are  basically 
antagonistic  to  the  mining  business,  and  yet  mining  propositions  are 
judge  by  the  bankers'  own  representive,  and  he  is  constitnted  the  court 
of  last  appeal.  If  he  determines  that  a  proposition  is  not  up  to  his 
particular  standard,  though  he  presumably  knows  nothing  of  mining, 
you  cannot  seek  capital  in  the  State  of  Kansas. 

In  my  opinion  both  the  Pardee  law  and  the  "Blue-Sky"  laws  have 
dismally  failed  in  their  original  intention  of  drawing  the  fangs  of  fakirs. 
I  was  the  originator  of  a  motion  that  you  have  just  adopted  which 
pledges  the  support  of  this  Congress  in  a  campaign  for  uniform  State 
laws  that  will  curb  the  activities  of  the  dishonest  financier  and  more 
definitely  define  the  duties  of  directors  toward  minority  stockholders. 
If  the  American  Mining  Congress  intends  to  live  up  to  the  high  ideals 
set  for  it  by  its  best  friends,  I  think  the  time  has  come  when  we  should 
do  something  to  stop  the  enormous  depradations  of  the  dishonest  rich. 
The  small  promoter  has  already  been  attended  to  by  various  laws  and, 
in  greater  degree,  by  awakening  the  public  to  his  methods,  but  nothing 
tangible  has  been  done  to  protect  the  public  against  his  fellow  who 
operates  in  a  big  way.  The  small  promoter  steals  the  dollar  and  a  big 
shout  goes  up  from  the  public  and  press,  but  the  financier  steals  by  the 
million  and,  through  control  of  the  banks  and  the  press,  is  able  to  escape 
with  his  booty  without  the  slightest  trouble. 

Some  of  you  have  doubtless  noticed  that  within  the  past  few  months 
a  certain  great  mining  interest  in  New  York,  which  has  been  operating 
away  off  somewhere  toward  the  South  Pole,  placed  on  the  market  a  new 
corporation  with  a  capital  of  $115,000,000.  The  actual  outlay  'is  said  to 
have  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  $1,500,000,  and  yet  $20,000,000  worth 
of  convertible  bonds  were  offered  to  the  public,  and  the  promoters  kept 
for  themselves  no  less  than  $95,000,000  worth  of  stock. 

I  want  to  tell  you  something.  If  you  or  I  had  offered  such  a 
proposition  as  this,  you  or  I  would  now  be  in  jail.  Just  so  long  as  there 
is  no  criminal  law  to  touch  the  "dummy"  directors  placed  in  office  to 
do  his  master's  ^bidding  will  the  minority  stockholder  suffer  great  loss 
and  the  mining  industry  be  brought  into  disrepute.  I  want  to  see  crimi- 
nal laws  placed  upon  our  statute  books  that  will  make  the  practice  of 
using  dummy"  directors  a  dangerous  one.  When  that  time  comes  the 
financier  will  be  more  careful,  because  he  will  be  unable  to  find  dummies 
who  will  take  a  chance  of  going  to  jail.  It  is  the  big  man  who  is  the 
real  menace  to  the  mining  industry,  and  I  want  to  see  the  American 
Mining  Congress  fire  the  first  gun  in  a  nation-wide  campaign  that  will 
place  his  operations  under  the  ban  of  criminality,  where  they  belong  and 
from  which  they  have  so  far  escaped. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  My  objection  to  this  resolution  is,  that  instead 
ot  going  after  the  man  to  put  him  in  jail,  it  simply  expels  him  from 
membership  in  the  American  Mining  Congress,  which  is  a  penalty  en- 
tirely inadequate. 

Motion  to  adopt  Resolution  No.  12  was  put  and  declared  lost. 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  103 

MR.  BURTON  calls  for  rule  covered  in  the  By-Laws  in  regard  of 
delegates  to  vote. 

THE  SECRETARY:  Mr.  President,  the  right  of  delegates  to  vote 
on  all  matters  coming  before  any  convention  of  the  American  Mining 
Congress  has  never  been  questioned,  and  whether  the  By-Laws  spe- 
cifically provide  for  it  or  not,  it  has  been  the  accepted  custom. 

The'  delegates  introduce  resolutions,  which  are  referred  to  a  resolu- 
tions committee  selected  by  the  delegates,  and  come  back  again  to  the 
delegates  for  final  disposition. 

Secretary  reads  part  of  Article  No.  IV,  of  the  By-Laws,  as  follows: 
"and  each  delegate  attending,  properly  accredited,  shall  be  entitled  to 
participate  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Congress." 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  now  reconsider  Resolution  No.  11, 
the  By-Laws  having  been  found  containing  the  clause  called  for. 

Secretary  again  reads  Section  4  of  Article  III,  as  follows: 
Sec.  4.  Any  member  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  who  shall 
be  guilty  of  any  act  which  may  bring  discredit  to  this  organization  may 
be  expelled  by  the  Board  of  Directors  or  the  Executive  Committee,  after 
due  notice  of  the  time  and  place  at  which  action  will  be  taken  upon  the 
charges  against  such  member,  which  charges  must  be  made  in  writing 
by  another  member  in  good  standing,  and  such  accused  member  shall, 
upon  demand,  be  entitled  to  receive  a  copy  of  and  have  a  full  hearing 
upoii  the  charges  so  made,  before  final  action  is  taken,  such  demand  to 
be  made  within  twenty  days  after  notice  of  such  charges  has  been  mailed 
by  the  Secretary  to  his  last  given  post-office  address. 

MR.  BURTON:  My  resolution  covers  employment  by  the  people 
of  the  Association.  When  such  cases  exist  they  could  be  looked  into, 
and  it  is  not  for  me  to  present  the  case  here,  but  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties. This,  I  think,  will  govern  the  employment  of  men  by  the  association. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Chair  believes  that  it  would  be  best 
handled  by  an  amendment  to  the  By-Laws  instead  of  a  resolution  on 
the  floor.  We  will  ask  the  Secretary  to  read  Resolution  No.  11  again 
before  we  vote  on  it. 

Secretary  le-reads  Resolution  No.  11. 

DR.  CHANCE:  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  I  move  that  the  reso- 
lution be  laid  on  the  table. 

MR.  BURTON:     What  is  the  procedure  in  changing  the  By-Laws? 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  A  two-thirds  vote  of  the  mem- 
bers after  thirty  days'  notice,  in  writing,  has  been  given. 

Motion  seconded  and  carried. 

A  DELEGATE:  As  a  delegate  is  not  a  member,  I  suggest  that  a 
vote  be  taken  on  the  resolution  by  the  members,  if  that  is  what  he 
desires. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  May  I  suggest  the  difficulty  of 
the  proposition  lies  in  the  fact  that  while  those  personally  present  might 
favor  the  proposition,  those  holding  proxies  would  not  feel  authorized 
to  vote  either  for  or  against  the  resolution,  not  being  authorized  to  do  so. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     The  Burton  resolution  is  tabled. 

MR.  BURTON:  Is  there  any  method  by  which  I  can  offer  an- 
other? 

THE  PRESIDENT:  It  would  have  to  come  through  the  regular 
channel  of  the  Resolutions  Committee. 

A  DELEGATE:  There  is  a  motion  before  the  house.  I  second 
the  motion  to  have  a  vote  of  the  members. 

ANOTHER  DELEGATE:  Mr.  President,  I  understand  that  mo- 
tion has  been  lost.  Isn't  that  final? 


104  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

MR.  BURTON:  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  According  to  the 
reading  of  the  By-Laws,  as  given  to  the  Secretary,  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  the  votes  of  members  from  the  votes  of  the  delegates,  so  I 
think  the  gentleman  is  out  of  order. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     Sustained.     Motion   out  of  order. 

MR.  BURTON:  The  By-Laws  say  that  delegates  may  participate 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  Congress. 

Secretary  reads  again  from  the  By-Laws. 

MR.  BURTON:  I  suggest  it  be  left  up  to  the  delegates  to  give 
an  expression  of  what  they  are  willing  to  do.  It  is  easy  to  vote  my 
motion  down  if  they  don't  want  to  express  themselves. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  In  order  to  carry  out  this  proposition  it 
would  be  necessary  to  call  a  meeting  of  members  instead  of  having  the 
open  Congress — instead  of  the  meeting  we  are  now  having. 

SECRETARY  CALLBREATH:  And  it  would  be  necessary  to 
have  a  quorum  of  the  members- 

THE  PRESIDENT:     Either  in  person  or  by  proxy. 

MR.  BURTON:  I  offer  a  new  resolution:  "That  it  is  the  sense 
of  this  meeting  that  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  American  Mining 
Congress  should  take  such  steps  as  will  express  to  its  members  its 
opposition  to  the  employment  by  any  of  its  members,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, of  any  man  who  has  been  found  guilty  of  fraud  in  connection  with 
the  mining  industry. 

Seconded.     Question. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Chair  believes  this  is  not  the  proper 
place  to  introduce  a  resolution  of  this  kind,  that  it  is  to  be  made  to  the 
Resolutions  Committee  when  in  session,  and  the  matter  has  been  closed. 

MR.  BURTON:  The  unanimous  consent  of  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee would  carry  that  resolution. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Resolution  No.  11  has  been  lost,  and  the 
Chair  does  not  believe  it  can  be  opened  at  this  time. 

MR.  LAWRIE:     It  is  a  new  resolution  as  I  understand. 

THE  SECRETARY:  The  resolution,  of  course,  can  be  reintro- 
duced. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  Chair  suggests  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee withdraw  and  see  if  they  cannot  agree  upon  the  resolution  that 
has  been  just  lost. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  13,  introduced  by  D.  W.  Brunton, 
of  Colorado 

Resolution  No.  13,  Introduced  by  David  W.  Brunton,  of  Colorado. 

.Whereas,  The  original  purpose  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
was  to  bring  about  such  co-operation  between  the  Federal  Government 
and  the  mining  industry  as  would  lead  to  its  highest  development;  and 

Whereas,  The  creation  of  a  Federal  Bureau  of  Mines  has  resulted 
in  such  great  good  to  the  mining  industry  as  to  justify  a  demand  for  an 
extension  of  the  work  in  this  behalf,  and  for  larger  activity  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  American  Mining  Congress  in  sixteenth  annual 
session  assembled  that  we  urge  upon  the  President  and  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  the  enactment  of  legislation  providing  for  a  Depart- 
ment of  Mines  and  Mining,  with  its  head  a  member  of  the  President's 
cabinet,  in  order  that  the  highest  needs  of  the  great  productive  industry, 
mining,  may  receive  that  attention  from  the  Federal  Government  to 
which,  by  reason  of  its  importance,  it  is  entitled. 

Seconded.    Motion  carried. 


AMERICAN    MINING  CONGRESS  105 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  14  introduced  by  Mr.  David  Ross, 
of  Illinois. 

Resolution  No.  14,  Introduced  by  David  Ross,  of  Springfield,  111. 

Whereas,  In  the  operation  of  unlimited  liability  laws  as  applying 
to  proceedings  relating  to  the  recovery  of  damages  for  work  accidents 
has  been  accompanied  by  great  delay,  immense  cost  and  frequent  mis- 
carriages of  justice;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  Congress  favor  and  approve 
the  enactment  of  laws  by  the  States  and  the  nation  prescribing  specific 
compensation  for  industrial  injuries  arising  out  of  and  in  the  course  of 
employment;  that  such  laws  should  apply  to  employers  and  employees 
engaged  in  all  kinds  of  productive  industries,  and  that  in  the  drafting 
and  administration  of  the  same  every  agency  having  for  its  purpose  the 
prevention  of  industrial  accidents  should  be  encouraged,  as  that  is  the 
primary  object  and  should  be  the  legitimate  result  of  such  legislation. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Any  discussion  on  Resolution  No.  14?  What 
is  your  pleasure,  gentlemen? 

MR.  BARTLETT:  There  is  no  one,  I  do  not  care  who  he  is  or 
where  he  may  come  from,  who  is  not  in  favor  of  this  law.  The  only 
real  question  is,  who  shall  pay  the  bill?  In  Germany  the  manufacturer 
pays  one-third;  in  Ohio  he  pays  three-thirds;  in  New  York  he  does  not 
pay  anything,  and  that  is  the  trouble.  There  are  many  things  about 
this  matter.  It  is  an  important  question.  We  might  ask,  who  pays  the 
fiddler? 

MR.  ROSS:  At  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  this  Congress  I 
prepared  a  few  remarks  on  the  subject  of  Workmen's  Compensation  Laws 
and  Accident  Prevention  Work,  and  I  regret  that  some  of  the  gentlemen 
who  had  participated  in  that  discussion  are  not  present  now.  From  my 
point  of  view  this  is  one  of  the  most  important  questions  affecting  every 
phase  of  our  modern  industry  that  can  come  before  this  convention,  and 
I  think  it  is  necessary  to  come  before  this  convention.  I  appreciate  it  is 
somewhat  of  a  disappointment.  I  am  not  going  to  go  into  the  question 
raised  by  our  fellow-member  as  to  whether  or  not  the  burden  of  this 
liability  should  be  divided  between  the  employer  and  the  employe.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  the  great  body  of  laws  already  passed  by  the  different 
States  in  the  Union  is  concerned,  that  liability  is  put  entirely  upon  the 
employer.  I  do  not  recall  any  of  the  States  that  have  passed  laws  or 
have  in  contemplation,  the  enactment  of  laws  where  the  burden  has  been 
imposed  upon  the  employe,  except  the  law  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  So 
that  what  we  have  to  say  on  this  subject  will  relate  to  the  principles  of 
this  legislation.  It  might  not  be  out  of  order  to  say  that  Congress  has 
already  gone  on  record  as  approving  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Law. 
Mr.  Ross's  paper  will  be  found  at  page  239  of  this  report. 

A  DELEGATE:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  Six- 
teenth Annual  Session  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  will  adopt  the 
resolution  in .  the  particular  phrase  and  in  the  manner  in  which  it  has 
been  presented.  The  best  method  of  meeting  this  trouble  of  liability 
and  of  accident  prevention  can  be  reached,  and  can  be  reached  only  by 
enactment  of  legislation  of  that  kind.  The  industrial  worker  who  has 
met  with  an  accident  in  the  mine  in  the  course  of  his  employment  sub- 
mits, under  these  laws,  to  a  reduction  of  50  per  cent,  of  his  wages.  Un- 
der the  common  law  he  would  be  entitled  to  recover  at  least  100  per 
cent,  and  in  addition  to  that  damages,  and  the  purpose  of  the  law  which 
imposes  50  per  cent,  on  his  employer  strikes  me  as  being  eminently  fair, 
and  that  that  will  commend  itself  to  the  lawmakers  of  the  land.  Out 
of  forty-eifcht  States  forty-five  of  them  represent  the  great  industrial 
States  of  the  Union,  and  no  matter  who  should  bear  the  burden  of  this 
liability,  it  should  not  prevent  this  Congress  from  taking  action  now  on 


io6  OFFICIAL   PROCEEDINGS 

this  resolution  and  sustaining  its  former  declaration  with  respect  to  such 
legislation.     I  move,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  adoption  of  this  resolution. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  You  have  heard  Mr.  Ross's  discussion  of  the 
resolution.  What  is  your  pleasure? 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Mr.  President,  I  would  like  to  amend  the  reso- 
lution. I  do  not  know  what  the  remainder  of  the  committee  discussed 
in  connection  with  it,  but  I  have  prepared  a  paper  along  the  same  lines 
as  Mr.  Ross  has,  which  the  Secretary  has,  but  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  time  I  will  not  be  able  to  read  it;  but  if  this  were  amended  in  some 
such  manner  as  the  following,  I  think  it  would  be  just  the  same  and 
would  probably  be  just  as  efficient: 

Resolution  No.  14,  Introduced  by  David  Ross,  as  Amended. 

Whereas,  In  the  operation  of  unlimited  liability  laws  as  to  the  recov- 
ery of  damages  for  industrial  accidents  has  been  accompanied  by  great 
delay,  immense  cost  and  frequent  miscarriages  of  justice;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved:  That  the  members  of  this  Congress  favor  and  approve 
the  enactment  of  laws  by  the  States  and  the  nation  prescribing  specific 
workmen's  compensation  in  lieu  of  employers'  liability  for  industrial 
injuries  arising  out  of  and  in  the  course  of  employment;  that  such  laws 
should  apply  to  employers  and  employes  engaged  in  all  kinds  of  pro- 
ductive industries. 

MR.  ROSS  accepts  the  amendment  made  by  Mr.  Taylor.  A  dele- 
gate calls  for  a  re-reading  of  the  amendment.  Secretary  reads  the 
amended  resolution. 

THE  PRESIDENT:     The  resolution  as  amended  has  been  read. 

Motion  to  adopt  put  and  carried. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Resolution  No.  15,  introduced  by  Mr.  Sidney  Nor7 
man,  of  Spokane,  Wash.  The  committee  recommends  the  resolution  as 
offered.  "It  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting  that  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  American  Mining  Congress  to  in  unmistakable  terms,"  etc. 

I  recommend  its  adoption. 

MR.  BURTON:  In  suppprting  that  motion  I  wish  to  rise  to  a 
point  of  personal  privilege.  It  has  been  suggested  in  a  friendly  way — 
because,  of  course,  I  know  the  members  of  the  American  Mining  Con- 
gress are  all  friends  of  mine — that  this  resolution  has  been  introduced 
from  a  personal  motive.  Both  resolutions  are  general  in  their  terms, 
and  you  might  see  the  necessity  of  some  law  that  will  place  the  respon- 
sibility on  the  "dummy"  directors.  I  believe  in  upholding  the  mining 
industry  in  the  best  form,  and  the  American  Mining  Congress  should 
go  behind  this  movement  in  an  unmistakable  manner. 

MR.  GRIFFITH:  One  feature  about  the  resolution  which  I  object 
to  is,  that  it  lasts  forever.  A  man  who  has  been  a  criminal  ought  to 
have  a  chance  of  employment,  and  for  the  American  Mining  Congress 
to  deny  the  man  a  chance  of  employment,  it  seems  to  me,  is  an  exceed- 
ingly cruel  thing  to  do.  The  very  worst  criminal  you  could  think  of 
should  have  the  opportunity  to  reform  and  make  an  honest  living.  Why 
should  we  deny  him  the  chance  to  become  a  worthy  and  useful  citizen? 

MR.  BURTON:  Is  it  better  to  give  a  man  who  has  been  im- 
prisoned and  taking  money  from  investors  all  of  his  life  in  every  scheme 
imaginable,  finally  entering  into  the  mining  game,  convicted,  sentenced 
and  serving  a  term  in  jail,  and  allow  him  to  come  back  and  work  the  same 
thing  over  again.  The  leopard  cannot  change  his  spots,  neither  can  that 
man.  I  think  the  American  Mining  Congress  should  do  everything  in 
its  power  to  keep  him  out. 

MR.  NORMAN:  There  may  be  cases,  Mr.  President,  where  that 
resolution  might  work  a  hardship,  but  the  specific  cases  which  I  refer 


AMERICAN    MINING  CONGRESS  107 

to  are  cases  where  every  man  who  has  mining  operations  in  New  York 
knows  this  exists  there  all  the  time.  He  is  arrested  on  some  charge  of 
fraud;  he  changes  the  name  of  his  firm  and  continues  in  business.  I 
know  this  to  be  a  fact,  although  my  own  experience  has  been  short. 

DR.  H.  M.  CHANCE:     I  call  for  a  reading  of  the  resolution  again. 
Secretary  reads  resolution. 

DR.  CHANCE:  I  think  we  would  make  a  mistake  in  passing  a 
resolution  of  this  kind.  In  the  first  place,  the  objection  offered  by  Mr. 
Griffith  that  virtually  it  is  an  attempt  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
to  blacklist  every  man  who  has  been  convicted  of  fraud,  seems  to  be  a 
proposition  that  is  an  absolute  bar  from  the  man  ever  becoming  a  good 
citizen.  It  seems  to  me,  besides,  that  it  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
American  Mining  Congress  to  pass  a  resolution  of  this  kind;  that  reso- 
lution implies  it  is  the  practice  of  the  members  of  the  American  Mining 
Congress  to  employ  criminals.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  necessary  to  curb 
the  desire  of  the  members  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  to  con- 
tinue to  employ  criminals.  Some  of  them  have  in  the  past  unwittingly 
taken  such  men  into  their  employ.  For  that  reason  I  oppose  the  adoption 
of  the  resolution. 

MR.  NORMAN:  It  is  not  the  intention  of  this  resolution  to  imply 
that  the  members  of  the  Congress  employ  criminals.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  a  fact  that  the  Mining  Congress,  through  one  of  its  former  presidents, 
has  been  severely  criticised,  and  I  believe  the  Secretary  can  enlighten 
us,  as  he  understands  the  situation  thoroughly.  I  would  like  to  hear  from 
the  Secretary  in  regard  to  this  matter. 

A  DELEGATE:  It  seems  ridiculous  that  the  American  Mining 
Congress  should  be  made  a  police  body,  and  I  move  that  this  last  reso- 
lution presented  be  tabled. 

Seconded. 

MR.  NORMAN:  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  and  I  ask  a  vote  of 
the  members  of  the  American  Mining  Congress. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Point  of  order  not  sustained.  A  motion  to 
table  a  resolution  is  always  in  order. 

Motion  to  lie  on  the  table  was  put  and  carried. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  Any  further  business  to  come  before  this 
Congress?  If  there  is  no  further  business  to  come  before  this  Congress 
a  motion  to  adjourn  is  in  order. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  now  listen  to  Mr.  George  S.  Rice, 
who  will  read  a  paper  by  Dr.  Joseph  A.  Holmes,  Director  of  the  Bureau 
of  Mines.  Dr.  Holmes'  paper  will  be  found  at  page  380  of  this  report. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  If  there  is  no  further  business  before  the 
house,  a  motion  for  adjournment  will  be  in  order. 

MR.  GRIFFITH:     I  move  that  we  adjourn. 

Convention  adjourned  sine  die  at  5.15  o'clock. 


MEETING  OF  MEMBERS 


TUESDAY,  OCTOBER  21,  1913. 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  President  Brunton  at  8.15  P.  M. 

The  Secretary  announced  that  in  addition  to  the  members  present 
there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  members  represented  by  per- 
sonal proxies  and  ninety  memberships  maintained  by  the  Illinois  Coal 
Operators'  Association,  being  more  than  a  legal  quorum  of  the  member- 
ship. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  We  will  first  listen  to  the  financial  report  of 
the  Secretary. 

The  financial  report  of  the  Secretary  for  the  eleven  months  ending 
October  1,  1913,  the  report  of  the  Auditing  Committee  and  the  Special 
Auditor's  report  were  then  read  as  follows: 

AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS. 
Financial  Statement,  November  1,  1912,  to  October  1,  1913. 

RECEIPTS. 

Cash  on  hand,  per  annual  report  for  year  ending  Oct.  31,  1912.  $279.76 

Membership  dues  4,763.41 

Membership  fees 405.00 

Special  contribution,  account  of  work  at  Washington 117.87 

Spokane  Convention  Fund   2,033.64 

Advertising,  1912  Convention  685.00 

Miscellaneous  receipts   342.17 


$8,626.85 
DISBURSEMENTS. 

Secretary's  salary $2,400.00 

Expense  of  Washington  office 1,442.20 

Printing   1,307.83 

Secretary's  expense   796.80 

Closing  expense  Spokane  Convention    1,029.10 

Salary  and  expenses  of  Assistant  Secretary 924.40 

Rent  of  Denver  office  225.00 

Postage    ,  186.00 

Organizers    45.00 

Office  supplies  24.95 

Bank  Exchange 18.90 

Telegraph  and  telephone  38.36 

Miscellaneous  expenses   58.25 

8,496.79 


Balance  September  10,  1913 $130.06 

Cash  in  bank $60.06 

Cash  in  hand 70.00 

$130.06 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  October  19,  1913. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  correct  statement  of  the 
receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  for  the 
period  from  November  1,  1912,  to  September  30,  1913. 

J.  F.  CALLBREATH, 

Secretary. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  October  20,  1913. 
We,  the  undersigned  members   of  the   Auditing   Committee  of  the 


AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS  109 

American  Mining  Congress,  having  examined  the  vouchers  and  accounts 
of  the  Secretary,  covering  transactions  for  the  period  from  November 
1,  1912,  to  October  1,  1913,  hereby  certify  that  we  find  the  same  to  be 
correct,  and  that  the  statement  hereto  attached  is  a  correct  statement 
of  the  financial  transactions  of  the  American  Mining  Congress  during 
said  period. 

JAS.  W.  MALCOLMSON, 

VAN  NESS  HEERMANCE, 

Members  Auditing  Committee. 

Statement  of  Cash  Receipts  and  Disbursements  American  Mining  Con- 
gress, November  1,  1912,  to  September  30,  1913. 

RECEIPTS. 
Cash  on  hand,  per  report  for  year  ending  October  31,  1912. . ..        $279.76 

Receipts  from  membership  dues $4,763.41 

Membership   fees    405.00 

Special  contribution,  account  of  work  at  Washington          117.87 

Spokane  Convention  Fund 2,033.64 

Advertising,  1912  Convention 685.00 

Miscellaneous  receipts 342.17 

Total  receipts    8,347.09 


Total  cash  to  be  accounted  for $8,626.85 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Secretary's  salary  $2,400.00 

Secretary's  expenses   . . 796.80 

Salary  and  expenses  of  Assistant  Secretary 924.40 

Organizers    45.00 

Expense  of  Washington  office 1,442.20 

Rent  of  Denver  office rr-.  225.00 

Printing    1,307.83 

Postage    186.00 

Office  supplies  24.95 

Bank    Exchange    18.90 

Telegraph  and  Telephone   38.36 

Closing  expense  Spokane  Convention 1,029.10 

Miscellaneous  expenses    58.25 


Total  disbursements   .  8.496.79 


Balance  on  hand,  September  30;  1913 $130.06 

We  hereby  certify  that  we  have  audited  the  accounts  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  above  Association  for  the  eleven  months  ending  September 
30,  1913,  and  that  the  foregoing  statement  sets  forth  fully  and  correctly 
the  cash  transactions  of  the  period  and  the  correct  balance  on  hand  as 
of  September  30th. 

JOHN  P.  HERR, 
Certified   Public   Accountant. 

THE  SECRETARY:  In  connection  with  this  report  we  have  the 
vouchers  showing  all  these  accounts  to  have  been  paid  by  check,  with 
the  exception  of  two  or  three  small  transactions,  which  were  paid  out 
in  cash.  These  vouchers  are  numbered  consecutively  and  carry  with 
them  the  cancelled  checks,  showing  disbursements  made,  and  with  the 
bank's  statement  in  corroboration  of  the  report. 

MR.  TAYLOR:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  the  report  of  the  Secretary 
as  read  be  received  and  filed. 

Motion  carried. 

THE  PRESIDENT:    The  next  business  before  the  Members'  Meet- 


no  OFFICIAL  PROCEEDINGS 

ing  is   the   appointment   of   the    Committee    on    Nominations.     Nomina- 
tions for  that  Committee  are  now  in  order. 

MR.  BROMAN,  of  Texas:     I  make  the  following  nominations: 
S.  A.  Taylor,  Pittsburgh; 
J.  W.  M'alcplmson,  Kansas  City; 
William  Griffith,  Scranton; 
Van   Ness   Heermance,  Virginia; 
Daniel  Whitney,  Philadelphia. 

Moved  that  nominations  be  closed.     Seconded.     Carried. 
PRESIDENT:     I  think  it  would  be  well  for  someone  to  move  that 
the  Secretary  cast  the  unanimous  vote  for  the  Convention  for  the  names 
mentioned; 

A   DELEGATE:      Mr.    Chairman,   in   order  to   expedite   matters,   I 
move  the  Secretary  be  empowered  to  cast  the  unanimous  ballot. 
Seconded.     Carried. 

SECRETARY:  By  direction  of  the  Convention  I  hereby  cast  the 
unanimous  ballot  of  the  Convention  for  S.  A.  Taylor,  J.  W.  Malcolmson, 
William  Griffith,  Van  Ness  Heermance  and  Daniel  Whitney,  to  act  as  a 
Committee  on  Nominations. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  I  hereby  declare  the  election  of  the  Nominat- 
ing Committee  and  will  request  the  first  named  to  arrange  with  the 
other  members  for  a  meeting,  and  to  prepare  the  Committee's  recom- 
mendations to  be  presented  at  a  later  meeting. 

Meeting  adjourned  until  10  A.  M.f  Thursday,  October  23.  1913. 

ADJOURNED   MEETING   OF   MEMBERS. 
THURSDAY,  OCTOBER  23,  1913. 

10:00  A.  M. 

THE  PRESIDENT:  The  meeting  will  please  come  to  order.  We 
will  first  hear  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Nominations,  by  the 
Chairman. 

M'R.  S.  A.  TAYLOR,  Chairman  of  Nominations  Committee,  reads 
report  of  this  Committee: 
To  the  Members  of  the  American  -Mining  Congress. 

Your  Committee  on  Nominations  beg  to  place  in  nomination  for 
directors  of  the  American  Mining  Congress — Hennen  Jennings,  Wash- 
ington. D.  C;  W.  J.  Richards,  Pottsville,  Pa.,  E.  A.  Montgomery,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.;  M.  S.  Kemmerer,  New  York,  to  serve  for  a  period  of  three 
years,  and  until  their  successors  are  elected. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

S.  A.  TAYLOR, 
JAS.  W.  MALCOLMSON. 
WM.   GRIFFITH, 
VAN  NESS  HERRMANCE, 
DANIEL  WHITNEY. 

THE  PRESIDENT.  Gentlemen,  what  is  your  pleasure  in  regard 
to  this  report? 

MR.   TAYLOR:      In   order   to   bring   it   before    the   Association,    I 
move  that  these  four  named  gentlemen  be  elected  as  Directors  of  the 
American   Mining   Congress,   and   that   the    Secretary  be   authorized   to 
cast  the  unanimous  ballot  of  the  members. 
Seconded.     Carried. 

THE  SECRETARY:  In  accordance  with  your  instructions  I  cast 
the  unanimous  ballot  of  the  members  personally  present  and  represented 
by  proxy  for  the  election  of  Messrs.  Hennen  Jennings,  W.  J.  Richards, 
E.  A.  Montgomery  and  M.  S.  Kemmerer.  to  serve  as  Directors  for  a 
period  of  three  years,  and  until  their  successors  are  elected. 

THE  PRESIDENT.    In  accordance  with  your  ballot  I  declare  the 
gentlemen  named  elected  as   Directors. 
Adjourned. 


The  President's  Annual  Address. 

D.  W.  BRUNTON, 
DENVER,  COLO. 


Everywhere  about  us  we  notice  things  which,  judged  in  the 
light  of  the  present,  have  little  or  no  right  to  an  existence.  They 
are  simply  survivals  of  past  necessities  or  customs,  which  are 
perfectly  useless  in  the  world  of  today.  To  this  class  certainly  belongs 
the  customary  address  of  the  retiring  President  of  the  American 
Mining  Congress.  Modesty  prohibits  him  from  mentioning  the 
work  which  has  been  carried  out  during  his  administration  and 
good  taste  prevents  him  from  offering  advice  or  making  suggestions 
to  his  successor.  In  fact,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  the  only  thing  that 
is  left  for  him  to  do  is  to  give  his  audience  some  idea  of  the  aims 
and  objects  of  the  Mining  Congress  and  the  assistance  it  hopes  to 
give  to  the  industry  which  has  called  it  into  existence. 

The  difficulties  under  which  coal  mining  operations  are 
carried  on  and  the  restrictions  by  which  that  industry  is  hampered 
will  be  so  graphically  described  during  the  discussions  at  our  meet- 
ing here  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  for  me  to  anticipate 
them.  Adverse  as  these  conditions  may  seem,  they  are  no  worse 
than  those  under  which  precious  and  semiprecious  metal  mining 
is  carried  on  in  the  west.  In  order  that  those  of  you  who  are 
not  personally  familiar  with  precious  metal  mining  may  understand 
the  difficulties  under  which  we  operate,  allow  me  to  sketch  briefly 
the  discovery  and  history  of  a  typical  western  mine. 

As  soon  as  a  prospector  who  has  been  tramping  over  the  hills, 
perhaps  for  many  weary  years,  discovers  the  outcrop  of  an  ore 
body  he  makes  a  location  as  prescribed  by  law  and  by  the  time  he 
receives  the  first  assay  returns  on  the  ore  he  has  exposed,  not  only 
the  ground  adjacent  to  his  location,  but  his  claim  itself,  will  be 
covered  two  or  three  layers  deep  by  conflicting  locations,  running 
in  every  possible  direction. 

He  then  proceeds  to  perform  the  $500  worth  of  development 
work  required  by  the  government  before  United  States  patent  can 
be  obtained.  When  the  work  is  completed,  patent  surveys  made,  and 


U2  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

the  advertising  period  ended,  he  finds  himself  face  to  face  with  a 
number  of  adverse  claims,  the  fierceness  with  which  these  conflicting 
claims  are  fought  being  dependent,  not  so  much  upon  the  supposed 
rights  of  the  people  who  are  opposing  him,  as  on  the  value  of  the 
mineral  in  his  claim.  The  mine  is  not  yet  producing,  he  has  no 
money  to  fight  these  adverse  suits,  and  he  must  either  compromise 
by  conveying  a  portion  of  his  discovery  to  the  men  who  are  attempt- 
ing to  rob  him  or  give  up  an  interest  in  his  claim  to  some  one  with 
ready  money  who  will  finance  his  legal  battles. 

When  this  fight  is  over,  if  the  surface  openings  still  continue 
to  carry  ore  in  depth,  he  begins  shipping  and  before  he  has  time 
to  reap  the  reward  of  his  labors,  or  accumulate  a  respectable  surplus 
he  finds  himself  confronted  with  one  or  more  "apex"  law  suits. 
It  is  a  most  unusual  thing  for  a  mine  to  find  its  way  into  the  pro- 
ducing stage  without  having  to  fight  one  or  more  "apex"  law  suits, 
all  because  our  legislators  in  1872  gave  us  the  most  archaic  law  that 
was  ever  placed  on  the  statute  books.  No  other  nation  possesses 
such  an  antiquated,  absurd  and  irrational  mining  law,  which,  no 
matter  what  it  was  intended  to  do,  has  only  resulted  in  a  continued 
expense  and  annoyance  to  mine  owners  and  big  fees  to  lawyers 
and  experts. 

If  the  possibilities  of  litigation  ended  with  the  first  few  years 
of  exploration,  the  case  would  not  be  so  serious,  but  some  of  the 
most  bitterly  fought  and  expensive  law  suits  have  arisen  between 
claims  which  have  been  in  operation  for  many  years.  At  the 
present  time  two  of  the  greatest  mines  in  Cripple  Creek,  which  have 
worked  togther  in  peace  and  harmony  for  over  fourteen  years,  are 
fighting  a  two  and  one-half  million  dollar  battle,  all  because  of  the 
discovery  in  one  of  the  workings  of  a  spur  or  branch  of  the  main 
ore  body.  One  of  the  most  disastrous  effects  of  this  continuous 
litigation  is  to  frighten  capitalists  away  from  mining  investments, 
because  observing  eastern  investors  have  learned  that  the  discovery 
of  a  new  mine  carrying  rich  ore  is  almost  certain  to  be  the  beginning 
of  the  most  expensive  and  interminable  litigation. 

Some  years  ago  the  United  States  government  appointed  a 
committee  to  examine  and  report  on  the  advisability  of  revising  our 
present  mining  laws.  Some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  industry  were 
placed  upon  this  board  and,  while  their  report  was  pigeon-holed 
and  never  made  public,  I  understand  it  was  unequivocally  in  favor 
of  a  complete  revision.  The  Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society, 


PRESIDENT'S  ANNUAL  ADDRESS  113 

the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  and  the  American 
Mining  Congress  each  have  had  committees  composed  of  represen- 
tative mining  men  from  all  portions  of  the  United  States  investi- 
gating the  desirability  of  a  change  in  our  mining  laws  and  the  re- 
ports of  the  committees  appointed  by  all  of  these  societies  have  been 
unanimously  in  favor  of  an  entirely  new  code,  as  piece-meal  re- 
vision seems  not  only  undesirable,  but,  under  present  conditions, 
almost  out  of  the  question.  The  American  Mining  Congress  is 
joining  hands  with  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers 
and  the  Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society,  and  together  we  hope 
to  arouse  public  opinion  to  the  necessity  of  making  a  complete 
revision  of  our  present  mining  law.  The  different  organizations 
interesting  in  this  work  have  for  years  been  collecting  data  on  the 
subject  of  mining  law.  American  mining  engineers,  in  the  pursuit 
of  their  profession,  travel  all  over  the  world  and  the  mining  laws  of 
each  nation  and  their  effects  on  the  industry  as  carried  on  to-day 
have  been  thoroughly  studied  and  the  data  thus  obtained  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  committee  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engi- 
neers, The  Mining  &  Metallurgical  Society,  and  of  the  Mining  Con- 
gress, and  these  committees  are  now  working  together  in  complete 
harmony  and  will  soon  be  able  to  present  a  carefully  worked  out 
mining  code  which,  if  it  becomes  a  law,  should  do  much  for  the 
future  of  the  industry  and  the  nation.  Neither  revision  nor  repeal 
will,  however,  be  an  easy  task,  as  the  apex  side-line  features  of 
our  mining  law  have  proved  a  veritable  mint  for  lawyers  and 
experts. 

Let  us  follow  our  typical  mine  a  little  further.  If  the  com- 
position of  its  ores  is  such  that  they  can  be  treated  by  themselves 
at  or  near  the  mine  the  owner  may  congratulate  himself,  but, 
unfortunately,  the'  great  majority  ol  our  precious  or  semiprecious 
metal  mines  carry  ores  which  contain  several  metals,  usually 
associated  with  sulphur  in  such  a  form  that  they  can  be  most 
successfully  treated  by  smelting.  This  is  an  operation  which 
experience  has  shown  requires  a  wide  mixture  of  ore  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  using  dead  fluxes ;  consequently,  the  ores  have  to  be 
shipped  and  sold  to  a  smelting  company,  located,  usually,  at  some 
convenient  railroad  center.  Years  ago  there  was  ample  competi- 
tion among  the  numerous  smelting  companies,  and  the  miner 
could  be  sure  of  obtaining  all  that  his  ore  was  worth  under  exist- 
ing conditions.  Today  most  of  the  plants  have  passed  into  the 


ii4  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

hands  of  a  few  great  corporations,  which  practically  amount  to  a 
gigantic  monopoly,  which  not  only  tells  the  miner  flat-footed  what 
they  will  pay  for  his  ores,  but  in  some  instances,  just  how  much 
they  will  permit  him  to  ship.  It  would  seem  that  all  these 
things  are  about  as  great  a  burden  as  an  industry  could  bear,  but 
our  typical  miner  has  still  more  troubles. 

The  Forest  Service  is  doing  splendid  work  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  forests,  but  the  organization  is  still  young  and  some- 
what imperfect;  many  of  the  superintendents  and  rangers  are  not 
only  untrained  but  are  over-zealous  and  officious  and  as  a  conse- 
quence rules  and  restrictions,  made  with  the  best  intentions  in  the 
world,  are  often  misinterpreted  and  the  mine  owner  some  times 
finds  it  difficult  to  obtain  timber  for  mine  supports  and  fuel,  per- 
mission to  build  roads,  or  to  lay  pipe  lines,  without  carrying  on  an 
interminable  correspondence  and  waiting  until  reels  of  red  tape 
have  been  unwound. 

In  addition  to  this  the  Government  has  now  stepped  in 
and  withdrawn  coal  lands  and  water  power  sites  from  entry. 
The  operations  of  hoisting,  pumping,  air  compressing,  and  ven- 
tilating all  require  large  amounts  of  power.  Picture  to  yourself 
the  feelings  of  a  mine  owner  with  an  undeveloped  coal  field  or 
an  unused  water  power  near  his  property  and  yet,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  as  far  away  as  if  located  in  the  mountains  of  the 
moon. 

The  drawbacks  already  enumerated,  which  seem  to  be  suf- 
ficient to  discourage  any  industry,  are  bad  enough,  but  the  end 
is  not  yet.  The  soil  in  the  valleys  of  our  western  mountains 
is  extremely  rich,  the  mines  furnish  a  near  at  hand  and  high 
priced  market  for  all  the  products  of  the  range,  field  and  garden, 
consequently  tillable  land  anywhere  near  the  mines  is  rapidly 
taken  up  by  settlers,  and,  so  generally  successful  are  their 
operations,  in  a  few  years  the  agricultural  population  is  sure  to 
outnumber  the  miners,  a  condition  which  already  obtains  in 
nearly  every  mining  state  in  the  west.  Just  as  soon  as  a  farming 
community  gains  numerical  strength  sufficient  to  make  itself 
felt  in  legislative  halls,  its  first  act  is  to  place  the  principal 
burden  of  taxation  on  to  the  mines.  There  is  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion to  this  anywhere  in  the  west.  For  instance: 

.  In  Colorado  the  mines  are  now  assessed  at  their  entire  cash 
value  plus  one-half  of  the  annual  gross  output,  plus  the  total 


PRESIDENT'S  ANNUAL  ADDRESS  115 

net  output,  while  the  agricultural  and  fruit  lands  of  the  state  are, 
in  many  cases,  only  assessed  at  from  one-third  to  one-fifth  of 
their  actual  market  value. 

In  Arizona  a  law  has  recently  been  passed  under  which  the 
mines  are  assessed  at  their  full  cash  value  plus  one-eighth  of 
their  annual  gross  output,  plus  four  times  their  net  output. 
Nothing  could  be  more  ruinous  or  unfair  to  the  mining  industry, 
yet,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  is  possible  for  the  mine  operators 
to  prevent  or  repeal  such  iniquitous  legislation  with  a  minority 
vote. 

Nor  are  they  content  with  this.  In  many  places  the  farmers 
have  not  only  attempted  but  succeeded  in  throttling  the  very 
industry  which  called  them  into  existence  and  made  them  pros- 
perous. In  Montana,  Utah,  and  California  the  agriculturists 
have  actually  succeeded,  by  means  of  legal  injunctions,  in  closing 
up  or  obtaining  unheard-of  damages  from  the  smelters  on  ac- 
count of  alleged  damages  to  crops,  which  any  impartial  observer 
knows  are  often  entirely  mythical.  In  fact  "smoke  farming" 
has  become  a  recognized  business,  and  lands  in  many  localities 
near  a  smelter  are  now  worth  much  more  than  they  could  have 
been  sold  for  before  "smoke  suits"  were  instituted.  The  Amal- 
gamated Copper  Company  has  already  paid  out  more  money  for 
damages,  alleged  and  real,  to  the  lands  of  farmers  around  Ana- 
conda than  the  entire  valley  could  be  sold  for  if  the  smelter  were 
not  in  existence.  This,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Company 
maintains  near  the  smelter  an  experimental  farm  which  raises 
the  largest  crops  and  the  finest  cattle  in  the  state. 

In  California  the  farmers  have  made  placer  mining  difficult, 
and  in  many  places  impossible.  These  things  may  seem  in- 
credible, but  they  are  absolute  facts,  as  every  one  conversant 
with  present  conditions  in  the  west  is  fully  aware. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  the  farmer  should  attempt  to 
destroy  the  industry  which  makes  his  occupation  both  pleasant  and 
profitable,  as,  without  the  metals,  he  would  be  obliged  to  till  his 
ground  with  a  sharp  stick  and  carry  his  scanty  crops  to  market 
either  on  his  own  back  or  on  the  backs  of  domestic  animals.  Inland 
transportation  without  metals  would  be  reduced  to  the  trail  and 
canoe  and,  without  intercommunication  and  exchange  of  products 
and  ideas,  we  would  all  revert  to  a  state  of  savagery. 

The  necessary  risks  and  difficulties  attendant  upon  mining 


n6  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

operations  are  a  sufficient  load  for  any  industry  to  carry,  but 
there  are  many  things  other  than  those  already  mentioned  which 
the  Mining  Congress  hopes  to  be  able  to  change.  For  instance, 
an  experienced  miner,  for  the  love  of  change  or  from  being  dis- 
satisfied with  his  condition  in  one  state,  moves  to  another  where 
a  different  code  of  signals  is  employed.  He  is,  of  course,  careful 
to  study  the  new  code,  but  some  day  before  the  use  of  the  new 
signals  has  become  entirely  mechanical  he  absent-mindedly  gives 
a  wrong  signal  and  the  unlooked-for  result  is  often  disastrous. 
Most  mining  states  have  their  own  code  of  mining  signals  which  are 
compulsory  within  their  boundaries,  but,  with  the  migratory  nature 
of  our  miners,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  have  a  uniform  code 
of  mining  signals  throughout  the  United  States.  Again,  a 
miner  who  has  been  working  in  a  mine  with  an  electrical 
equipment  for  power  and  lighting  of  220  volts,  changes  to 
another  property,  perhaps  in  the  same  district.  Two  hundred 
and  twenty  volts,  as  we  all  know,  is  comparatively  harmless, 
but  in  the  new  mine  where  our  miner  goes  to  work,  the  potential 
on  the  underground  line  is  440,  or  perhaps  even  2200,  and,  with- 
out realizing  the  difference,  he  is  as  careless  in  handling  or 
working  about  the  high  potential  line  as  he  formerly  was  with 
the  low,  and  the  results  are  unexpected  and  perhaps  fatal. 

This  illustrates  emphatically  the  necessity  for  a  uniform 
system  of  electrical  equipment  throughout  the  entire  country 
and  committees  from  the  Mining  Congress  and  Engineering 
societies  have  already  drafted  rules  and  regulations  for  uniform 
and  safe  underground  equipment  which  should  become  a  law 
in  every  mining  state. 

In  any  mine,  no  matter  how  stringent  rules  may  be  adopted 
lor  the  protection  of  th.e  miners  and  the  prevention  of  accidents, 
careless  workmen  will  sometimes  drill  into  missed  shots,  post- 
pone timbering  weak  ground,  ride  on  loaded  cars,  walk  into  open 
winzes  or  shafts,  etc.  Accidents  from  these  sources  occur  with 
altogether  too  much  frequency  and,  while  they  are  something 
which  the  operator  has  taken  every  precaution  to  avoid,  they 
are  and  must  remain  a  burden  on  the  industry.  At  the  present 
time  in  most  states  when  an  accident  of  this  kind  occurs  the 
contingent  fee  attorney  is  immediately  on  hand  and  a  prolonged 
period  of  bitter  litigation  ensues,  and  when  a  verdict  is  finally 
reached  the  crippled  workman  or  his  family  gets  practically 


PRESIDENT'S  ANNUAL  ADDRESS  117 

nothing;  court  costs  and  lawyers'  fees  having  absorbed  nearly, 
if  not  all,  of  the  award.  To  obviate  this,  a  number  of  states 
have  recently  passed  what  are  known  as  "Workmen's  Compensa- 
tion" laws,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn,  in  every  State  in 
which  laws  have  been  passed  the  results  have  been  extremely 
gratifying.  The  cost  to  the  employer  has  been  no  greater  than 
before,  while  the  sufferers  get  from  two  to  ten  times  as  much  as 
they  did  under  the  antiquated  laws  in  force  in  most  States,  and, 
what  is  even  of  more  importance,  they  obtain  the  compensation  im- 
mediately, instead  of  at  the  end  of  an  exhaustive  and  embittered 
struggle.  For  this  reason  the  American  Mining  Congress  urges 
the  passage  of  laws  of  this  kind  in  every  mining  State,  because  it 
is  certain  the  result  will  be  a  direct  benefit  to  both  employers  and 
workmen,  besides  tending  to  bring  about  a  much  better  feeling  be- 
tween these  two  representative  classes. 

When  our  typical  mine  finally  reaches  a  stage  where  deep 
explorations  are  necessary,  water  is  generally  encountered,  some- 
times in  sufficient  quantities  to  make  pumping  a  most  serious 
item  of  expense.  So  long  as  pumps  only  drain  the  property  in 
which  they  are  located  all  goes  well,  but  it  often  happens  that, 
owing  to  the  presence  of  numerous  cracks  and  fissures,  or  the 
permeability  of  the  rock  itself,  that  it  is  impossible  to  drain  one 
mine  without  lowering  the  water  level  in  the  mines  immediately 
adjacent.  This  throws  a  most  unjust  burden  on  the  pioneer 
company,  for  which  at  present  it  has  no  recourse,  and  it  has 
either  to  stand  the  expense  of  draining  all  the  surrounding  ter- 
ritory or  cut  down  its  rate  of  development  to  the  average  of  the 
mines  about  it.  We  need  a  Drainage  District  Law  which  will 
compel  every  one  operating  mines  within  a  given  district  to  bear 
their  proper  share  of  the  expense  of  pumping. 

As  soon  as  the  earliest  developed  mines  in  a  new  district 
begin  shipping  any  considerable  amount  of  valuable  ore  a  para- 
sitic population  descends  like  a  cloud  on  the  camp.  Prominent 
among  this  class  is  the  mine  promoter,  the  better  class  among 
whom  carry  on  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  useful  work,  as  they 
raise  capital  with  which  to  develop  new  mines  or  promising 
prospects,  but  obtaining  a  bond  or  purchasing  a  promising  new 
mine  or  prospect  costs  real  money,  consequently  the  impecunious 
and  irresponsible  brokers  usually  pick  up  worthless  claims  which 


n8  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

can  be  had  for  little  or  nothing  and  then  proceed  to  boom  them 
by  means  of  flamboyant  prospectuses  and  magazine  and  news- 
paper advertising  all  over  the  United  States.  In  the  district  it 
is  easy  to  distinguish  the  difference  between  a  valuable  property 
and  a  worthless  one,  but  a  thousand  or  two  miles  away  it  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  discern  the  difference  between  their 
prospectuses.  In  fact,  as  a  general  rule,  the  wildcat  promotion 
is  groomed  until  it  presents  a  more  attractive  appearance  on 
paper  than  the  genuine  article,  and  as  a  consequence  the  country 
is  annually  flooded  with  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  absolutely 
worthless  mining  stock,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  discredit  mining 
operations  of  all  kinds  in  the  minds  of  the  unfortunate  purchasers. 
The  men  who  lose  the  money  in  wildcat  mining  ventures  never 
stop  to  consider  that  there  are  two  widely  different  kinds  of  mining 
which  are  carried  on  by  two  very  dissimilar  classes ;  the  real  wealth 
producing  operators  who  mine  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  the 
fake  mining  men  and  promoters  who  mine  only  in  the  pockets  of  the 
public. 

The  Mining  Congress  has  for  years  urged  the  passage  of 
laws  which  would  make  wildcat  promotions  impossible,  legis- 
lation which  should  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  both  to  eastern 
investors  and  to  the  mining  industry. 

The  greatest  service  the  Mining  Congress  has  so  far  been 
able  to  perform  for  the  benefit  of  the  mining  industry  has  been 
the  assistance  it  was  able  to  give  in  the  creation  of  the  Bureau 
of  Mines,  which  we  hope  and  confidently  expect  will  do  as  much, 
for  the  mining  industry  as  the  Department  of  Argiculture  has 
been  able  to  do  for  the  farmer.  It  took  years  of  patient  endeavor 
on  the  part  of  the  Mining  Congress  to  arouse  sufficient  interest 
in  the  matter  and  to  build  up  public  opinion  to  a  point  where 
our  National  Congress  appreciated  the  necessity  of  giving  such 
an  aid  to  mining,  and,  although  the  Bureau  of  Mines  was  not 
organized  until  1910,  the  magnificent  results  which  it  has  already 
accomplished  have  more  than  convinced  every  one  of  its  value. 
The  experiments  and  work  which  it  has  carried  on  at  the  Pitts- 
burgh testing  station  on  explosives  and  explosions  have  marked 
a  new  epoch  in  scientific  investigations  on  the  causes  of  explosions 
and  the  properties  of  explosives,  the  practical  results  of  which 
have  been  a  steady  annual  decrease  in  the  number  of  mining  acci- 
dents. Even  here,  however,  there  is  still  much  to  be  accomplished, 


PRESIDENT'S  ANNUAL  ADDRESS  119 

as  there  is  no  reason  why  mining  accidents,  both  serious  and  fatal, 
should  be  two  and  a  half  times  as  great  in  the  United  States  as  in 
Great  Britain. 

Until  this  year  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  has  been 
almost  entirely  confined  to  coal  mining  in  the  East,  but  the  last 
Congress  gave  an  appropriation  of  $100,000  for  Western  metal 
.mining.  This  appropriation  only  sufficed  for  the  opening  of 
chemical  and  microscopical  laboratories,  which  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Denver  and  are  already  carrying  on  a  most  valuable 
and  useful  work  in  the  investigation  of  the  properties  of  the 
rarer  metals  and  in  petrographic  and  microscopic  studies  of  our 
low-grade  complex  ores.  Investigations  are  also  being  carried 
on  at  the  present  time  on  concentration  methods  and  the  adap- 
tability of  the  various  methods  now  in  use  to  the  different  ores 
found  throughout  the  Rocky  Mountain  region. 

The  Mining  Congress  hopes  soon  to  see  a  large  testing 
station,  something  on  the  lines  of  the  one  now  in  use  at  Pitts- 
burgh, established  somewhere  in  the  West,  where  experimental 
work  on  a  larger  scale  than  is  possible  in  a  laboratory  can  be 
carried  on.  The  able  and  enterprising  Director  of  the  Bureau 
of  Mines  is  extremely  anxious  to  make  this  installation,  and  the 
Mining  Congress  expects  that  every  one  connected  with  the  in- 
dustry will  do  what  he  can  to  assist  the  Bureau  in  obtaining 
a  sufficient  appropriation  for  this  work. 

The  total  appropriation  this  year  for  the  Bureau  of  Mines 
was  only  $662,000,  a  very  considerable  part  of  which  was  spent 
in  testing  coal  purchased  for  the  navy,  the  Panama  Canal,  and 
other  necessary  Government  work.  Compared  with  the  appro- 
priations made  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  this  sum  is 
hardly  worth  considering,  and,  when  we  stop  to  realize  that  the 
products  of  the  mines  are  equally  as  essential  to  the  wealth  and 
welfare  of  the  Nation  as  those  of  the  farms,  it  is  evident  that 
larger  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines 
are  not  only  desirable  but  absolutely  necessary.  A  power  plant, 
no  matter  how  perfect  its  design  or  excellent  its  workmanship, 
is  absolutely  useless  without  an  adequate  supply  of  fuel,  and, 
unless  the  Bureau  of  Mines  is  given  ample  funds  for  the  work 
ahead  of  it,  the  results  attained  will  fall  far  short  of  our  expec- 
tations and  necessities. 

The  speeches  and  debates  that  you  have  already  listened  to 


120  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

give  some  idea  of  the  requirements  of  the  coal  mining  industry, 
while  the  examples  I  have  just  cited  in  the  history  of  a  typical 
precious  metal  mine  give  some,  although  not  all,  of  the  defects 
in  out  present  system,  for  which  a  legal  remedy  is  required. 
We  all  know  that  mines  can  neither  be  called  into  existence 
nor  made  profitable  by  legislation,  but  we  do  expect  that  laws 
will  be  framed  and  passed  which  will  afford  equal  opportunity 
to  all  and  just  protection  to  every  one  who  risks  either  life  or 
capital  in  the  industry.  The  motto  of  the  Mining  Congress  is 
safety  and  efficiency,  by  which  we  mean,  not  only  security  to 
the  investors  and  owners,  but  health  and  safety  to  our  employees 
as  well. 

The  desirability  of  the  various  legislative  changes  and  improve- 
ments outlined  are  so  obvious  that  it  is  evident  they  can  meet  with 
but  little  opposition,  but  we  are  certain  to  encounter  inertia,  some- 
thing which  is  far  more  difficult  to  overcome  than  the  warmest 
opposition. 

The  American  Mining  Congress  is  the  only  organization 
covering  the  entire  United  States  whose  sole  business  it  is  to 
look  after  the  legal  and  commercial  interests  of  the  coal  and 
metal  mining  industries,  and  the  work  which  it  entails  necessi- 
tates a  continually  increasing  expenditure  of  time  and  energy. 
There  is  nothing  so  effective  in  carrying  out  legislative  reforms 
as  a  thoroughly  aroused  and  insistent  public  opinion,  a  condi- 
tion which  in  this  case  can  only  be  reached  by  a  continuous  and 
well-directed  educational  campaign.  To  conduct  this  effectively 
we  require  more  funds  and  a  greatly  increased  membership,  and 
we  hope  that  every  person  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  min- 
ing will  see  that  it  is  to  his  best  interest  to  become  a  member  of 
the  American  Mining  Congress.  This  would  give  us  immediately 
a  vast  increase  in  both  numbers  and  influence,  an  irresistible  com- 
bination which  would  soon  bring  about  every  necessary  reform. 


Industrial  Progress  of  the  United  States  as  Influenced  by  Our 

Land  Laws. 

DR.    JAMES    DOUGLAS, 
NEW    YORK. 


The  acute  industrial  progress  of  this  country  dates  from  the 
termination  of  the  Civil  War.  However  baneful  the  passions  which 
war  excites,  and  deplorable  the  suffering  and  loss  which  it  involves, 
it  seems  always  to  precede  and  probably  is  efficient  in  producing  ac- 
celeration of  great  national  activity,  by  which  the  rapid  advances  in 
the  arts  of  peace  obligate  the  ravages  of  strife,  and  smooth  the 
rancorous  feelings  it  excites. 

The  terrible  Civil  War,  which  prostrated  the  South  and  strained 
the  resources  of  the  North  from  1861  to  1865,  certainly  had  that 
effect.  It  not  only  by  force  welded  the  nation  into  one,  but  it 
aroused  a  spirit  of  industrial  energy,  spurred  on  by  generous 
motives. 

Until,  and  even  after,  the  Civil  War  was  fought  out,  California 
and  Oregon  were  isolated,  by  thousands  of  miles  of  almost  uninhab- 
ited country,  from  the  seat  of  government  and  the  older  States.  But 
a  railroad,  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific,  incorporated  unfortunately 
under  two  charters,  but  really  one  road,  was  surveyed  while  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis  was  United  States  Secretary  of  War.  The  project 
was  recognized,  when  hostilities  broke  out,  as  an  essential  war 
measure,  and  building  was  commenced,  therefore,  while  the  war 
was  raging,  and  finished  in  1872,  or  seven  years  after  the  war  closed. 
It  brought  the  East  and  the  West  into  intimate  touch,  and  gave  the 
people  some  faint  conception  of  the  incalculable  value  of  the  inter- 
vening stretches  of  prairie  and  mountain  and  plateau  lying  between 
the  Missouri  River  and  the  Pacific.  Laws  were  therefore  framed 
with  the  view  of  utilizing  as  rapidly  as  possible  these  boundless 
resources.  When  the  vastness  of  the  space  to  be  peopled,  and  the 
wealth  to  be  garnered  from  the  soil  and  from  the  rocks  of  half  a 
continent,  untouched  by  the  hand  of  man,  came  to  be  even  dimly 
realized  by  the  united  people,  an  invitation  was  given  to  the  whole 

\ 


122  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

world,  including  even  the  Chinese,  bidding  all  to  enter  and  to  help 
in  harvesting  the  treasures  which  seemed  so  boundless. 

It  was  the  policy  instigated  not  solely  by  motives  of  gain  but 
by  a  spirit  of  generosity  and  fraternity ;  for  these  altruistic  impulses 
are  stronger  in  the  early  stage  of  a  people's  life  than  after  industrial 
success  and  selfishness  and  class  prejudice  have  chilled  the  enthu- 
siasm, which  is  generally  warmer  in  a  newborn  than  in  the  maturer 
nationality.  Though  the  most,  liberal  land  and  corporation  laws 
would  not  have  succeeded  in  creating  a  great  industrial  nation  within 
half  a  century,  had  the  resources  to  work  upon  not  been  present, 
it  is  equally  true  that  without  the  laws  and  the  democratic  consti- 
tution, the  country's  resources  would  have  been  more  slowly 
developed. 

In  the  opening  of  the  west  beyond  the  Mississippi  by  railroads 
and  steamboats  an  impulse  was  given  to  expansion  greater  even 
than  that  which  originated  in  the  settlement  of  the  Ohio  valley,  for 
the  new  land  laws  permitted  the  whole  world  to  enter  and  take  part 
in  the  feast  of  good  things.  Emigration  from  Europe  eagerly 
accepted  the  hearty  invitation  to  people  the  West.  But  the  revela- 
tion of  what  the  West  had  to  offer  to  the  miner,  as  well  as  the 
farmer,  diverted  the  current  of  the  American  population  inland  to- 
wards the  development  of  its  own  resources.  Thus  American  energy 
was  transferred,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  sea  and  from  foreign 
commerce,  to  the  opening  of  this  more  attractive  field.  This  influ- 
ence was  probably  more  effectual,  though  less  conspicuously  recog- 
nized in  its  effect  on  American  commerce,  than  even  the  destruction 
of  the  old  mercantile  fleet  of  superannuated  ships  by  the  Alabama. 
The  restless  human  element  on  the  Atlantic  coast  had  previously 
gone  to  sea,  but  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  the  amaz- 
ing mineral  wealth  of  the  whole  Rocky  Mountain  chain  and  the 
fertility  of  the  prairies  west  of  the  Missouri,  offered  a  more  attrac- 
tive outlet  than  the  sailor's  life ;  while  the  West  coupled  the  promise 
of  gain  with  abundance  of  danger  and  adventure.  Thus,  when  a 
sailor  became  a  pioneer,  he  gratified  his  impulse  to  break  loose  from 
the  rigid  conventions  of  human  life,  the  narrow  circle  of  his  neigh- 
borhood, and  the  restrictions  political  and  social  which  he  resented 
in  his  own  home.  New  England,  therefore,  the  nursery  of  the 
American  mercantile  marine,  was  deserted  by  her  children.  They 
scattered  West,  and  not  East. 

Of  course  with  the  increase  of  wealth  has  sprung  up  for  solu- 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          123 

tion  a  crop  of  social  and  economical  problems;  some  of  them  of  a 
very  weedy  description,  not  easily  stored  and  difficult  of  digestion, 
and  the  consciousness  of  natural  power  has  almost  compelled  the 
nation  to  break  away  from  the  restrictive  domestic  policy  of  the 
"fathers"  and  to  absorb  foreign  territory  and  take  their  place  among 
the  great  powers  of  the  world. 

With  age  new  responsibilities  are  forced  on  nations  as  well  as 
on  individuals,  and  laws  as  well  as  the  rules  of  living,  have  to  be 
modified  to  meet  these  new  conditions.  This  applies  urgently  to 
our  land  and  mineral  law,  which  succeeded  admirably  in  attaining 
the  objects  aimed  at  half  a  century  ago,  but  now  undoubtedly  require 
revision. 

The  fundamental  motive  of  our  land  laws  in  individual  owner- 
ship is  inherited  from  colonial  days.  Both  of  the  two  first  groups 
of  colonists  who  left  England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  those  who 
went  to  Virginia  and  those  who  went  to  New  England,  were  fellow- 
partners  in  companies  with  English  shareholders,  one  of  whose 
assets  was  the  land  they  acquired  on  the  American  continent.  A 
modified  species  of  communism  therefore  existed,  but  only  for  a 
very  short  time.  The  desire  for  the  private  ownership  of  the  land, 
which  the  settlers  cultivated,  was  irresistible  to  men  who  had  freed 
themselves  from  the  manorial  and  leasehold  systems  of  Great 
Britain;  and  this  preference  has  coincided  so  accurately  with  the 
growth  of  national  prosperity  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  that  almost 
all  land  legislation  has  favored  actual  ownership  and  small  holdings. 
For  a  time  after  the  Declaration  of  independence  the  lands  of  the 
Western  domain  were  disposed  of  in  large  blocks  to  defray  the  war 
debt;  but  since  then  legislation  has  avowedly  aimed  at  frustrating 
land  monopoly  and  vesting  its  ownership  in  the  actual  cultivator. 
It  has  not  always  succeeded. 

The  same  tendency  has  controlled  the  legislation  for  the  sale 
of  the  mill  and  forest  land,  but  in  every  case  the  spirit  of  unbounded 
liberality  in  disposing  of  the  public  domain,  which  characterized  the 
laws,  has,  to  a  certain  degree,  frustrated  the  original  intention.  The 
liberal  land  laws  created  new  forces  which  could  be  utilized  only 
by  the  expenditure  of  consolidated  capital,  controlled  either  by 
private  corporations  or  by  the  State.  The  first  alternative  was 
adopted,  and  it  inevitably  followed  that  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  national  growth  these  combinations  of  capital  had  to  corre- 
spondingly increase  their  size  and  influence,  until  they  have  come 


124  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

to  assume  a  menacing  importance  in  public  estimation.  But,  in  fact, 
the  recent  Federal  land  laws  have  not  controlled  the  disposal  of 
the  materials  out  of  which  were  created  the  great  Trusts,  that  of 
late  have  attracted  so  much  attention  and  comment.  The  iron  ores 
of  the  Steel  Trust  in  Michigan  and  Tennessee  followed  the  land, 
and  sugar  and  tobacco  are  not  primarily  Western  products.  What, 
however,  must  be  borne  in  mind,  in  explanation  of  the  remarkable 
growth  of  the  country,  is  that  the  laws  enacted  since  the  war  came 
into  operation  when  the  railroad  system  of  the  country  was  being 
rapidly  built  up ;  when  the  steam  engine  was  being  improved ;  when 
the  means  of  generating  and  controlling  the  electric  current  were 
being  studied,  and  when  inventors  were  already  conceiving  the  many 
industrial  uses  to  which  it  has  since  been  turned.  The  country, 
therefore,  sprang  into  existence,  industrially,  at  the  very  time  these 
new  forces  were  being  brought  into  the  service  of  man.  And  no 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  were  as  eager  and  able  to  use  them 
as  the  Americans.  From  colonial  days  labor  has  been  scarce  and 
costly:  and,  therefore,  to  devise  machinery  which  will  replace  mus- 
cular exertion  has  become  almost  a  natural  and  a  national  faculty. 

THE  DISPOSAL  OF  THE:  WESTERN  DOMAIN. 

At  the  time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  only  six  of  the 
thirteen  States  had  definite  boundaries.  They  were  New  Hamp- 
shire, Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania.  Delaware,  and 
Massachusetts.  Each  of  the  others  laid  claim  to  ill-defined  areas 
of  the  vast  unexplored  region  west  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains. 
The  ownership  of  these  western  lands  by  certain  States  was  opposed 
by  those  States  which  did  not  share  in  their  possession,  mainly  on 
the  ground  that  "the  resources  of  that  general  government,  to  which 
all  contributed,  should  not  be  taxed  for  the  protection  and  develop- 
ment of  this  region,  while  its  advantages  would  inure  to  the  benefit 
of  the  favored  few."*  In  1779,  before  the  war  was  actually  fin- 
ished, Congress  recommended  Virginia  and  the  other  States  to  for- 
bear settling  or  selling  their  unappropriated  lands.  All  were  turned 
over  to  the  Federal  Government  except  the  Connecticut  Reservation 
on  Lake  Erie,  the  ownership  of  which  was  disposed  of  by  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  before  the  jurisdiction  over  the  same  was  relin- 
quished to  the  Federal  Government  in  1800. 


*"A  Century  of  Population,"  p.  IQ. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          125 

The  Northwest  Territory — a  still  larger  domain,  some  900 
miles  by  700  miles — was  constituted  in  1787  as  a  single  district  and 
subsequently  subdivided  into  five  States,  designated  by  number. 
Even  so  far-sighted  a  man  as  Thomas  Jefferson,  though  under  the 
inspiration  of  world-building,  predicted  that  "the  Western  country 
was  so  vast  and  the  facilities  for  transportation  and  communication 
so  meagre,  that  it  would  be  a  thousand  years  before  the  country 
as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi  would  be  thickly  settled."  Facts  have 
contradicted  Jefferson's  calculations,  for  the  people  have  succeeded, 
by  liberal  legislation,  in  reducing  from  ten  to  one  the  number  of 
centuries  which  have  expired  in  filling,  though  not  overcrowding, 
this  vast  expense  with  an  industrious  population. 

LANDS  OWNED  BY  THE;  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 

On  the  creation  of  the  Republic  the  colonies  which  became  the 
Thirteen  Federated  States  retained  possession  of  their  public  lands 
within  their  recognized  boundaries.  But  the  United  States — the 
Federal  Government — retained  control  of  most  of  its  public  lands 
under  the  constitutions  granted  by  Congress  to  the  States  since 
created  by  it,  and  the  Federal  Government  now  owns  virtually  all 
the  public  land  in  the  district  of  Alaska.* 

The  present  total  area  of  the  United  States,  exclusive  of  Alaska, 
is  now  1,937,144,900  acres;  that  of  Alaska  is  378,165,700  acres,  and 
of  the  Islands  and  Panama  Canal  Zone,  80,405,120  acres,  making  a 
total  of  2,395,715,840  acres,  or  3,743,306  square  miles,  but  the  public 
lands  which  passed  into  the  Federal  Government  originally,  and 
have  been  since  obtained,  were  1,441,436,160  acres.  The  unceded 
lands  in  1904  were  473,836,402  acres ;  since  that  date  about 
20,000,000  acres  have  been  disposed  of.  Of  this  the  largest  quantity 
is  in  the  arid  region,  not  over  10  per  cent,  of  which  can  probably 
be  irrigated ;  but  a  very  much  larger  proportion  is  applicable  to 
grazing. 

Public  lands  have  been  disposed  of  under  the  following  Acts 
of  Congress  passed  since  the  Civil  War,  and  in  the  following  quan- 
tities, up  to  June  3Oth,  1904.  (Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office)  : 


*The  country's  gross  area  in  1790  was  820,377  square  miles;  the  settled 
portion  239,935  square  miles,  or  about  29  per  cent.  ("A  Century  of  Popula- 
tion," a  Census  Document,  p.  17). 


126  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  DISPOSITION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  DOMAIN,  EXCLUSIVE 
OF  ALASKA,  1904.* 

Title.  Acres. 

Confirmed  private  land  claims 33,440,482 

Wagon- road  construction  land  grants : 

Primary  Limits   2,429,956 

Indemnity  Limits    437,517 

Canal  Construction  Land  Grants : 

Primary  Limits   4,560,044 

Indemnity  Limits    38,653 

River  Improvement  Land  Grants 2,246,251 

Railroad  Construction  Land  Grants: 

Certified  or  Patented,  Primary  Limits 76,614,654 

Certified  or  Patented,  Indemnity  Limits 27>935>638 

Odd  Sections,  Not  Certified  (Estimated) 13,000,000 

Swamp  Lands: 

Approved    65,015,414 

Indemnity,  Patented  723,850 

Grants  of  Land  to  States  and  Territories : 

School  Grants   69,058,443 

Total  Other  Grants   20,587,863 

Scrip : 

Private  Land  Claims   1,164,345 

Sioux  Half-breeds    310,240 

Chippewa  Half-breeds   1 10,480 

Agricultural  College   7,672,800 

Allotment  to  Individual  Indians I3>987,359 

Land  Ceded  by  Indians  and   Sold  Through  Office  of 

Indian  Affairs   1,1 16,038 

Mineral  Lands  1,731,275 

Final  Homestead  Entries    96,495,030 

Final   Timber-Culture   Entries 9>745>433 

Lands  Sold  Under  the  Timber  and  Stone  Acts 7,596,078 

Reservoir  Rights  of  Way 329,109 

Forest  Reserves: 

Entire  Area   57,9O9>934 

Lieu  Land  Selections  2,193,502 

*The  Report  of  the  Public  Land  Commissioner  (p.  xiii.),  after  giving  the 
figure  of  473,836,402  acres  unsold  in  1904,  adds :  "The  latter  figure  of  nearly 
a  half  a  billion  acres,  while  but  a  third  of  the  original  area,  is  still  enormous/' 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          127 

Area    Withdrawn    54,399,092 

State  Reclamation  Land  Grants 978,074 

Land  Withdrawn  for  National  Reclamation  Purposes. .  2,488,665 
Land  Disposed  of  for  Cash  Under  Various  Acts: 

To  June  30,  1880 196,755,215 

July  I,  1880,  to  June  30,  1904 79,803,003 

Entries   Pending    (Estimated) 39,525,840 

National  Parks  in  the  Public  Land  States 3,654,454 

Military  and  Similar  Reserves: 

Military  Wood  and  Timber 66,857 

Other  Similar  Reserves  500,000 

Indian  Lands: 

Reservations 70,448,126 

Ceded,  but  Not  Open  to  Settlement 2,597,735 

Unappropriated  Public  Land  of  the  United  States 841,872,377 


Total    Land    Surface    in    Public    Domain,    including 

Alaska    1,809,539,840 

A  brief  summary  of  some  of  these  laws  will  explain  in  part 
the  ease  with  which  wealth  has  been  accumulated,  and  the  rapid 
strides  which  industrial  progress  has  made  in  the  United  States. 

LAND  LEGISLATION  PRIOR  TO  THE  HOMESTEAD  ACT  OF  1862. 

The  first  Homestead  Act  was  passed  in  1862,  but  previous  to 
that  date  land  legislation  had  occupied  much  of  the  attention  of 
Congress.  Perhaps  the  most  important  measure  was  the  Ordinance 
of  1787,  which  guaranteed  the  absolute  ownership  of  land.  But 
the  transfer  of  its  vast  domain  by  the  Federal  Government  to  the 
absolute  owners  has  undergone  many  changes  in  both  principle  and 
practice. 

The  United  States  promised  what  they  did  not  actually  own 
when,  in  I776,f  they  offered  lands  in  "the  western  settlements"  to 
deserters  from  the  British  ranks,  and  as  a  bounty  to  induce  men  to 
enlist  in  the  continental  army.  But  the  Federal  Government  ulti- 
mately became  owners  of  these  tracts  of  land  west  of  the  Allegha- 


f  "Land  Question  in  the  United  States,"  p.  121,  Shosuke  Sato,  Johns  Hop- 
:ins  University  Studies. 


128  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

nies,  of  which  certain  of  the  States  had  become  possessors  after  the 
expulsion  of  the  French  and  before  the  Revolution,  and  of  the  still 
larger  northwestern   domain ;   with   which,   according  to  the  Hon. 
John  Jay,*  "it  may  always  be  remembered  to  England's  credit  in 
the  peace  negotiations,  Shelburne,  declining  all  temptation  to  a  con- 
trary course,  endowed  the  Republic."     Mr.  Jay  describes  this  as  its 
"gigantic  boundaries  at  the  south,  west  and  north,  which  determined 
its  coming  power  and  influence."     When  in  possession,  the  Federal 
Government  fulfilled  its  pledge  by  rewarding  its  soldiers  by  grants 
of  land.     It  also  devoted  a  liberal  portion  to  education,  and  sold 
the  balance  at  $i  an  acre  in  large  lots  to  land  companies  and  indi- 
viduals, the  minimum  being  an  entire  section  of  640  acres.     Land 
companies  were  formed  to  buy  tracts  by  the  millions  of  acres;  for 
the  sale  of  these  apparently  boundless  spaces  was  regarded  as,  and 
really  was,  the  readiest  way  of  relieving  the  financial  stringencies 
of  the  Government.     Hamilton,  as  a  financier,   favored  giving,  to 
the  purchaser  of  one  whole  township  of  ten  miles  square  or  more, 
two  years'  credit,  but  he  also  saw  the  advantage  of  selling  to  settlers 
in  small  lots.     The  price  of  land  soon  rose  to  $2  an  acre.     And  early 
in  the  nineteenth  century  opposition  to  the  disposal  of  the  public 
domain  in  large  blocks  became  so  strong  that  the  sections  that  might 
be  sold  to  a  single  entryman  became  smaller  and  smaller,  till  in  1820 
the  present  minimum  of  forty  acres  (a  quarter-quarter  section)  was 
reached,   and   the   payment   might   be   made   in    four    instalments. 
Meanwhile  the  General  Land  Office  was  organized  on  very  much 
the  lines  it  still  possesses.     The  land  debates  alternated  with  settlers' 
relief  debates  during  the  early  years  of  the  last  century,  and  stability 
of  legislation  was  not  reached  till  the  Pre-emption  Act  of  1841  was 
passed.     This  was,  however,  only  one  of  several  statutes.     The  pre- 
emptor  paid  the  established  price,  but  he  bought  his  acres  at  private 
sale,  and  the  Government  forfeited  the  advantage  of  putting  the 
public  domain  up  in  large  parcels  at  public  auction.     The  present 
pre-emption  law  permits  any  authorized  purchaser,  who  does  not 
already  own  320  acres,  to  buy  160  acres,  on  which  he  must  reside, 
and  for  which  he  must  pay  by  certain  deferred  payments.     It  was 
the  forerunner  of  the  still  more  liberal  system  of  homesteading,  or 
the  free  grant  of  land  to  actual  settlers,  which  was  advocated  as 
early  as  1833,  and  was  the  object  of  the  "Free  Soilers"  agitation. 
(Sato,  p.  164.) 

*  Windsor's  "Critical  History  of  America,"  Vol.  V.  p.  580. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  129 

THE  HOMESTEAD  ACT. 

The  following  summary  of  the  homestead  law  and  the  method 
of  acquiring  land  under  it  is  given  by  Judge  Lindley  :* 

"The  homestead  laws  secure  to  the  head  of  a  family,  of  lawful 
age,  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  who  has  declared  his 
intention  to  become  such,  the  right  to  settle  upon,  enter,  and  acquire 
title  to  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  unappropriated 
non-mineral  public  lands,  by  establishing  and  maintaining  residence 
thereon  and  improving  and  cultivating  the  land  for  a  continuous 
period  of  five  years. 

"To  obtain  an  inceptive  right  to  a  homestead,  the  applicant  files 
with  the  register  of  the  local  land  office  an  application,  stating  his 
qualifications,  and  describing  the  land  he  desires  to  enter.  If  it 
appears  from  the  tract-books  that  the  land  is  of  the  character  sub- 
ject to  entry  under  the  law,  and  is  clear — that  is,  unappropriated — 
the  applicant  is  permitted  to  make  entry  of  the  land;  the  receiver 
of  the  land  office  issues  a  receipt  for  the  fees  paid  for  filing  the 
application,  a  record  is  made  in  the  local  office,  and  the  fact  reported 
to  the  general  land  office.  If  the  lands  are  returned  as  mineral,  and 
borne  on  the  tract-books  as  such,  the  homestead  claimant  will  not 
be  permitted  to  initiate  his  right  until  a  hearing  is  had  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  the  character  of  the  landr  To  use  the  common 
expression,  the  mineral  must  be  'proved  off/  before  any  right  to  the 
land  can  be  inaugurated  under  the  agricultural  land  laws.  What- 
ever may  be  the  effect  of  the  Surveyor  General's  return,  as  evidence 
in  litigated  cases  involving  the  character  of  the  land,  the  land  officers 
in  administering  the  land  laws  accept  such  return  as  controlling  their 
action  in  the  first  instance. 

"It  would  seem  that  the  estate  acquired  by  a  homestead  claimant 
who  has  filed  his  application  and  received  his  preliminary  receipt 
from  the  receiver  of  the  land  office,  is  of  greater  dignity  than  that 
acquired  by  filing  a  declaratory  statement  under  the  pre-emption 
laws.  By  the  pre-emption  laws  the  United  States  did  not  enter  into 
any  contract  with  the  settler,  or  incur  any  obligation  that  the  land 
occupied  by  him  should  ever  be  offered  for  sale.  They  simply  de- 
clared that,  in  case  their  lands  were  thrown  open  for  sale,  the  privi- 
lege to  purchase  should  be  first  given  to  parties  who  had  settled  upon 
and  improved  them. 

*"A  Treatise  on   the  American  Laws  Relating  to   Mines  and  Mineral 
Lands,"  Vol.  I.  pp.  204,  205. 


i3o  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

"Public  land  covered  by  a  pre-emption  filing  as  to  which  there 
has  been  no  payment  made  or  final  certificate  issued,  may  be  appro- 
priated by  Congress  to  public  purposes,  or  otherwise  disposed  of 
without  infringing  any  legal  right  held  by  the  pre-emptioner. 

"In  an  opinion  of  Attorney  General  McVeagh,  given  at  the 
request  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  was  stated,  that  upon  the  'entry' 
by  the  homestead  claimant  at  the  local  land  office,  a  right  in  his  f  avoi 
would  seem  to  attach  to  the  land,  which  is  liable  to  be  defeated  only 
by  failure  on  his  part  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  home- 
stead law  in  regard  to  settlement  and  cultivation;  that  this  right 
amounts  to  an  equitable  interest  in  the  land,  subject  to  the  future 
performance  by  the  settler  of  certain  conditions,  and,  until  forfeited 
by  failure  to  perform  the  conditions,  it  must  prevail,  not  only  against 
individuals,  but  against  the  Government;  that,  in  contemplation  of 
the  homestead  law,  the  settler  acquires  an  immediate  interest  in  the 
land,  which,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  becomes  severed  from  the 
public  domain. 

"The  land  department  has  invariably  acted  upon  this  theory; 
and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  given  its  sanction 
to  the  rule  that  such  an  entry,  so  long  as  it  remains  subsisting,  is 
such  an  appropriation  of  the  tract  as  segregates  it  from  the  public 
domain.  Innumerable  filings  under  the  pre-emption  laws  have  been 
accepted  for  the  same  tract  by  the  land  office ;  but  from  the  moment 
a  homestead  entry  is  accepted  and  the  preliminary  receipt  issued, 
no  further  applications  or  filings  for  the  tract  are  permitted,  so  long 
as  the  entry  remains  uncancelled. 

"Although  the  land  may  be,  in  fact,  mineral  in  character,  and 
a  mining  claim  be  located  thereon,  no  application  to  patent  such  min- 
ing claim  will  be  received  by  the  land  officers  until  a  hearing  is  had 
to  determine  the  character  of  the  land. 

"If  the  land  be  found  at  such  hearing  to  be  mineral  in  character, 
a  cancellation  pro  tanto  of  the  homestead  entry  will  be  ordered,  and 
the  mineral  lands  will  be  segregated,  whereupon  the  mineral  appli- 
cant may  proceed  to  patent." 

Under  the  Homestead  Act  there  have  been  made  from  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Act  till  June  30,  1912,  924,215  entries  of  quarter  sections 
of  160  acres,  covering  127,846424  acres.  The  size  of  the  entries 
was  therefore  about  10  per  cent,  less  than  the  law  allowed.  The 
object  of  the  Act  was  to  settle  the  land  with  actual  agriculturists, 
and  to  discourage  its  acquisition  in  large  blocks  by  individuals  or 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          131 

corporations.  A  man,  once  the  patent  is  issued,  can  do  what  he 
will  with  his  own  and  dispose  of  it  to  corporation  promoters,  but 
the  patent  is  only  issued  to  citizens  who  have  nominally  lived  on 
the  land  for  five  years,  or  aliens  who  have  declared  their  intention 
of  becoming  citizens.  And  the  same  citizen  can  make  only  one  entry 
on  any  class  of  the  public  lands. 

Instead  of  a  residence  of  five  years  on  the  land  an  Act  was 
passed  (Sec.  2301  of  Revised  Statutes,  July  ist,  1881),  by  which, 
on  payment  of  $2.50  per  acre,  a  patent  is  issued  to  the  applicant  after 
only  fourteen  months'  residence.  Over  twenty  millions  of  acres 
have  been  purchased  under  these  conditions ;  but  as  the  Act  has  been 
used  to  facilitate  the  concentration  of  land  into  large  holdings,  the 
Commission  of  1904  recommended  the  repeal  for  the  following 
reason : — 

"The  object  of  the  homestead  law  was  primarily  to  give  to  each 
citizen,  the  head  of  a  family,  an  amount  of  land  up  to  160  acres, 
agricultural  in  character,  so  that  homes  would  be  created  in  the 
wilderness.  The  commutation  clause,  added  at  a  later  date,  was 
undoubtedly  intended  to  assist  the  honest  settler,  but,  like  many 
other  well-intended  acts,  its  original  intent  has  been  gradually  per- 
verted, until  now  it  is  apparent  that  a  great  part  of  commuted  home- 
steads remain  uninhabited.  In  other  words,  under  the  commutation 
clause  the  number  of  patents  furnished  no  index  to  the  number  of 
new  homes." 

Despite  the  manifest  intention,  therefore,  of  the  laws  to  create 
small  holdings,  and  the  precautions  taken  to  prevent  their  perversion, 
the  tendency  to  create  large  estates  has  not  been  altogether  pre- 
vented. But  the  result  of  the  policy  has,  on  the  whole,  attracted 
to  the  land  small,  industrious  farmers,  who  have  paid  off  their  debts, 
become  independent,  and  constitute  one  of  the  most  stable  elements 
of  the  population.  Nevertheless  the  Commission  of  1904  concludes 
its  report  with  the  following  sinister  reflection:* 

"Detailed  study  of  the  practical  operation  of  the  present  land 
laws,  particularly  of  the  Desert  Land  Act  and  the  commutation 
clause  of  the  Homestead  Act,  shows  that  their  tendency  far  too 
often  is  to  bring  about  land  monopoly  rather  than  to  multiply  small 
holdings  by  actual  settlers.  The  land  laws,  decisions,  and  practices, 
have  become  so  complicated  that  the  settler  is  at  a  marked  disad- 
vantage in  comparison  with  the  shrewd  business  man  who  aims  to 

*  Report  of  the  Public  Lands  Commission,  1904. 


1.32  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

acquire  large  properties.  Not  infrequently  their  effect  is  to  put  a 
premium  on  perjury  and  dishonest  methods  in  the  acquisition  of 
land.  It  is  apparent,  in  consequence,  that  in  very  many  localities, 
and  perhaps  in  general,  a  larger  proportion  of  the  public  land  is 
passing  into  the  hands  of  speculators  and  corporations  than  into 
those  of  actual  settlers  who  are  making  homes. 

This  is  not  due  to  the  character  of  the  land.  In  all  parts  of 
the  United  States  known  to  your  Commission,  where  such  large 
holdings  are  being  acquired,  the  genuine  homesteader  is  prospering 
alongside  of  them  under  precisely  the  same  conditions.  Wherever 
the  laws  have  been  so  enforced  as  to  give  the  settler  a  reasonable 
chance  he  has  settled,  prospered,  built  up  the  country,  and  brought 
about  more  complete  development  and  larger  prosperity  than  where 
land  monopoly  flourishes.  Nearly  everywhere  the  large  land-owner 
has  succeeded  in  monopolizing  the  best  tracts,  whether  of  timber 
or  agricultural  land.  There  has  been  some  outcry  against  this  con- 
dition. Yet  the  lack  of  greater  protest  is  significant.  It  is  to  be 
explained  by  the  energy,  shrewdness,  and  influence  of  the  men  to 
whom  the  continuation  of  the  present  condition  is  desirable. 

"Your  Commission  has  had  inquiries  made  as  to  how  a  number 
of  estates,  selected  haphazard,  have  been  acquired.  Almost  without 
exception  collusion  or  evasion  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  land 
laws  was  involved.  It  is  not  necessarily  to  be  inferred  that  the  pres- 
ent owners  of  these  estates  were  dishonest,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
their  holdings  were  acquired  or  consolidated  by  practices  which  can- 
not be  defended. 

"The  disastrous  effect  of  this  system  upon  the  well-being  of 
the  nation  as  a  whole  requires  little  comment.  Under  the  present 
conditions,  speaking  broadly,  the  large  estate  usually  remains  in  a 
low  condition  of  cultivation,  whereas  under  actual  settlement  by 
individual  home-makers  the  same  land  would  have  supported  many 
families  in  comfort  and  would  have  yielded  far  greater  returns. 
Agriculture  is  a  pursuit  of  which  it  may  be  asserted  absolutely  that 
it  rarely  reaches  its  best  development  under  any  concentrated  form 
of  ownership. 

"There  exists,  and  is  spreading  in  the  West,  a  tenant  or  hired 
labor  system  which  not  only  represents  a  relatively  low  industrial 
development,  but  whose  further  extension  carries  with  it  a  most 
serious  threat.  Politically,  socially,  and  economically  this  system  is 
indefensible.  Had  the  land  laws  been  effective  and  effectually  en- 
forced its  growth  would  have  been  impossible. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          133 

"It  is  often  asserted  in  defense  of  large  holdings  that,  through 
the  operation  of  enlightened  selfishness,  the  land  so  held  will  event- 
ually be  put  to  its  best  use.  Whatever  theoretical  considerations 
may  support  this  statement,  in  practice  it  is  almost  universally 
untrue.  Hired  labor  on  the  farm  cannot  compete  with  the  man  who 
owns  and  works  his  land,  and  if  it  could  the  owners  of  large  tracts 
rarely  have  the  capital  to  develop  them  effectively. 

"Although  there  is  a  tendency  to  subdivide  large  holdings  in  the 
long  run,  yet  the  desire  for  such  holdings  is  so  strong,  and  the  belief 
in  their  rapid  increase  in  value  so  controlling  and  so  widespread,  that 
the  speculative  motive  governs,  and  men  go  to  extremes  before  they 
will  subdivide  lands  which  they  themselves  are  not  able  to  utilize. 

"The  fundamental  fact  that  characterizes  the  present  situation  is 
this :  That  the  number  of  patents  issued  is  increasing  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  new  homes." 

The  most  recent  modification  of  the  Homestead  Law  is  "The 
Three- Year  Homestead  Bill,"  approved  by  the  President  on  June  6, 
1912.  Under  it  "the  period  of  residence  necessary  to  be  shown  in 
order  to  entitle  a  person  to  patent  under  the  homestead  laws  is  re- 
duced from  five  to  three  years,  and  the  period  within  which  a  home- 
stead entry  may  be  completed  is  reduced  from  seven  to  five  years. 
The  three-year  period  of  residence,  however,  is  fixed,  not  from  the 
date  of  the  entry,  but  'from  the  time  of  establishing  actual  permanent 
residence  upon  the  land.' 5: 

RAILROAD  LAND  GRANTS. 

More  land  was  in  the  past  given  as  a  bonus  to  encourage  rail- 
road building  than  has  been  transferred  to  homesteaders.  The 
earliest  grants  were  made  in  1850,  and  those  prior  to  1862  were 
made  to  States  as  trustees  and  agents  of  transfer  for  the  railroads. 
Only  three  grants  were  made  after  1870,  and  about  75  per  cent,  of 
the  whole  was  in  the  encouragement  of  trans-continental  roads.  The 
lands  ceded  to  encourage  railroad  building  were  in  the  territories 
adjacent  to  the  assisted  roads.  The  largest  grants  were  of  land 
contiguous  to  the  early  trans-continental  roads — the  Union  and 
Kansas  Pacific,  the  Central  Pacific,  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  South- 
ern Pacific,  and  the  Santa  Fe.  In  all,  seventy-nine  land  grants 
were  made,  covering  nearly  200,000,000  acres,  but,  "by  reason  of 
forfeiture  by  Congress  because  of  the  failure  of  the  grantees  to 
construct  the  roads  as  required  by  the  granting  Act,  this  amount 


134  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

was  reduced  to  such  an  extent  that  the  acreage  at  this  time  is  esti- 
mated at  155,000,000  acres."*  Since  then  further  forfeitures  have 
been  made. 

Most  of  the  land,  especially  the  lumber  land,  was  unsaleable 
at  the  time,  and  was  therefore  merely  a  prospectively  valuable  asset. 
It,  however,  assisted  the  roads  in  raising  funds,  and  it  is  charged 
that  the  roads,  owing  to  the  rising  value  of  both  agricultural  and 
lumber  lands,  are  not  over-zealous  in  trying  to  dispose  of  their  ex- 
tensive unsold  holdings.  Mineral  lands  were  not  intentionally 
granted,  or  intentionally  claimed.  And  where  such  minerals,  includ- 
ing oil,  have  been  found,  the  right  of  the  concessionaire  to  enjoy 
this  advantage  is  being  questioned  by  the  administration. 

Though  the  Government  no  longer  makes  grants  of  land  to 
encourage  the  building  of  the  large  railroads,  it  still  cedes  the  use 
of  the  right  of  way  and  a  certain  acreage  for  station  grounds  to  any 
railroad  traversing  the  public  domain. 

To  encourage  the  building  of  the  first  transcontinental  roads, 
Congress  lent  large  sums  to  the  companies,  which  have  been  re- 
turned. But  the  need  of  transportation  was  so  urgently  felt  by  the 
population  of  thinly  settled  districts,  that  exemption  of  taxes  for 
limited  periods,  bonuses  by  municipalities  and  counties  of  station 
grounds  and  rights  of  way,  and  even  grants  of  money,  were  made. 
But  of  late  such  encouragement  has  been  seldom  extended  to  railroad 
builders. 

GRANTS  OF  PUBLIC  LANDS  TO  TERRITORIES  AND  STATES. 
The  Federal  Government  generally  confers  on  newly-created 
Territories  and  States  large  tracts  of  land  for  specific  purposes, 
retaining,  however,  the  greater  portion,  including  coal  and  mineral 
lands.  The  grants  to  States  and  Territories  up  to  November,  1904, 
were : —  , 

Acres. 

For  common  schools 69,058,443 

For  charitable,  educational,  penal,  and  reformatory  insti- 
tutions          8,539,464 

For  internal  improvements  10,631,482 

For  public  buildings  1,162,731 

For  salt  springs  and  contiguous  tracts 606,045 


89,998,165 


*  Report  of  the  Public  Lands  Commission,  1904. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          135 

When  the  thinly  settled  sections  of  the  West  enjoyed  limited 
self-government  as  Territories,  the  land  within  these  Territories 
was  retained  by  the  National  Government,  with  the  exception  of 
such  grants  as  may  have  been  entrusted  to  the  Territorial  Govern- 
ment to  be  sold  for  special  purposes.  On  the  creation  of  States, 
Congress  has  not  followed  a  uniform  rule  in  its  grants  of  public 
lands  to  the  new  self-governing  communities,  but  has  always  en- 
dowed them  most  liberally  with  land  for  educational  purposes.  As 
early  as  1785  an  Ordinance  was  passed  assigning  680  acres  of 
land,  or  one  thirty-sixth  of  the  entire  public  domain,  to  every 
township  "for  the  maintenance  of  public  schools  within  said  town- 
ship." And  every  new  State  since  the  admission  of,  and  includ- 
ing, Oregon,  has  received  an  additional  grant  of  the  thirty-sixth 
section.  Land  grants  to  new  States  for  the  maintenance  of  univer- 
sities and  agricultural  colleges  have  been  the  rule.  In  all  cases  the 
Federal  Government  has  aimed  at  excluding  known  mineral  lands 
from  the  control  of  new  States ;  but  they  have  otherwise  been  amply 
provided  with  the  means — if  wisely  disposed  of — for  educating  their 
children  in  even  more  advanced  studies  than  the  elements. 

Texas  has  been  an  exception ;  for,  being  an  independent  republic 
when  incorporated  into  the  Union,  one  of  the  conditions  of  Texan 
annexation  was  that  she  should  "retain  all  the^the  vacant  and  unap- 
propriated lands  lying  within  her  limits,  to  be  applied  to  paying  the 
debts  and  liabilities  of  Texas,  and  the  remainder  of  said  lands,  after 
discharging  such  debts  and  liabilities,  to  be  disposed  of  as  said  State 
may  direct;  but  in  no  event  are  such  debts  and  liabilities  to  become 
a  charge  upon  the  Government  of  the  United  States."  But  Texas 
is  liberal  in  the  support  of  education.  The  Constitution  of  1876 
assures  to  the  School  Fund  of  Texas  half  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  public  lands.  (Report  of  the  Public  Lands  Commission,  p.  33.) 

INDIAN  AND  MILITARY  RESERVATIONS. 

For  Indian  reservations,  14,574,688  acres  were  appropriated 
between  June  3Oth,  1911,  and  June  3Oth,  1912,  but  not  alienated, 
for  the  area  can  be  cut  down  by  Act  of  Congress  or  executive  order. 
The  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  United  States  have  been  a  sub- 
ject of  acute  controversy,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  As  the  white 
population  invaded  the  Western  prairies,  the  Indians,  who  could 
not  be  expected  to  adopt  civilized  habits  and  methods,  had  to  be 
removed,  and  this  could  not  always  be  done  without  inflicting  some 


I36  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

injustice,  for  the  only  remedy  for  the  anomaly  seemed  to  be  the 
transfer  of  the  Indian  to  less  desirable  lands. 

As  to  the  military  reservations,  most  of  them  have  been  restored 
to  the  public  domain,  owing  to  the  altered  system  of  army  con- 
centration. 

NATIONAL  PARKS. 

Of  late  years  large  areas  of  the  public  domain  which  are  re- 
markable for  the  possession  of  great  natural  beauty,  like  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park,  in  Montana,  or  the  Yosemite  in  California,  have 
been  secured  from  desecration,  or  from  private  ownership,  by  con- 
version into  national  parks;  and,  to  rescue  prehistoric  and  historic 
monuments,  the  land  on  which  they  stand,  if  not  owned  by  the 
Government,  may  be  acquired  by  purchase,  and  set  apart  under  the 
National  Monument  Act.  These  appropriations  are  evidences  of 
a  certain  aesthetic  and  historical  sense  in  the  popular  character,  with 
which  it  is  not  generally  credited, 

DESERT  LAND  ACT. 

Under  the  Desert  Land  Act,  nearly  13,000,000  acres  have  been 
ceded  to  entrymen  in  blocks  of  a  sauare  mile,  on  condition  that  a 
certain  portion  of  each  entry  be  adequately  irrigated.  In  applying 
this,  and  the  provisions  of  all  other  statutes,  curious  anomalies 
inevitably  occur. 

Land  to  be  Irrigated  under  Reclamation  Service. — Of  the  mil- 
lions of  acres  still  within  the  public  domain  a  considerable  portion  is 
within  the  Arctic  circle,  rich,  doubtless,  in  mineral,  but  of  little  value 
for  forestry  or  agriculture.  Of  the  balance,  by  far  the  larger  quan- 
tity is  comprised  within  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  therefore  within 
not  only  the  barren  but  the  arid  zone.  Some  of  the  projects  aim 
at  storing  flood  waters  by  damming  mountain  torrents ;  others  attain 
the  same  object  by  raising  the  level  of  lakes,  and  still  others  will 
draw  water,  loaded  with  fertilizing  material  from  such  comparatively 
large  and  sluggish  rivers  as  the  Colorado  and  the  Rio  Grande.  This 
work  is  being  done  at  the  expense  of  the  Federal  Government,  and 
by  the  Reclamation  Service,  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey. 

''The  total  sum  set  aside  for  all  classes  of  projects  is  $34,270,000, 
and  the  amount  of  land  to  be  irrigated  is  1,909,000  acres.  The  aver- 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          137 

age  value  of  irrigated  land  in  the  United  States  is  $47  per  acre. 
This  acreage  will,  therefore,  add  $89,723,000  to  the  taxable  property 
of  the  United  States  in  land  values  alone.  According  to  the  census 
report  of  1900,  the  average  annual  income  from  irrigated  land  is 
$15  per  acre.  On  this  basis  an  income  of  $28,735,000  per  annum 
will  be  added  to  the  nation's  wealth." 

The  figures  are,  of  course,  departmental  calculations. 

Though  the  policy  of  the  Government  is  to  withdraw  from 
corporate  control  in  the  future  the  forests  and  the  waters  of  the 
public  domain,  whether  available  for  power  generation  or  irrigation, 
small  holdings  in  the  arid  region  will  be  irrigated  by  pumping,  when 
underground  flow  is  near  the  surface,  and  by  catching  the  rainfall 
in  artificial  reservoirs.  Such  irrigation  projects  are  carried  out  by 
corporations,  associations  of  ranchers,  or  by  individuals,  and  will 
undoubtedly  render  fertile  a  large  acreage  of  desert  land  in  small 
separate  areas. 

TIMBER  AND  STONK  ACTS. 

Three  and  a  half  million  acres  of  timber  land  have  been  sold  in 
California,  Oregon,  Nevada  and  Washington,  at  $2.50  per  acre, 
under  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act  (Public  Timber  Laws,  p.  98).  The 
entrymen  can  take  up  only  160  acres;  but  this  provision  has  not 
prevented  the  forest  lands  passing  into  the  possession  of  large  pro- 
prietors, either  through  purchase  from  entrymen  or  by  the  use  of 
lieu  land  scrip — that  is,  scrip  which  has  been  issued  as  a  reward 
for  military  and  other  service,  and  as  a  bonus  to  the  railroads.  Some 
such  scrips  are  or  have  been  transferrable,  and  good,  therefore,  for 
the  purchase  from  Government  of  certain  classes  of  land.  To  avoid 
the  destruction  of  the  forests  through  wasteful  methods  of  lumber- 
ing, forest  fires,  and  other  preventable  causes,  the  President  has  used 
the  authority  conferred  on  him  by  the  Act  of  March  3d,  1891,  to 
withdraw  from  the  public  domain  and  create  as  forest  reserves 
"public  lands  wholly  or  in  part  covered  with  timber  or  undergrowth." 
Lumbering  may.  however,  be  conducted  under  license  on  these  reser- 
vations, and  agricultural  lands  upon  the  same  may  be  disposed  of. 
The  acreage  now  included  in  the  150  national  forests  is  187,406,376 
acres.  (Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  General  Land  Office  for 
1912.) 


I38  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

MINERAL  LAND  LAWS. 

While  the  homestead  laws  continue  to  meet  with  popular  ap- 
proval, it  is  very  generally  recognized  that  the  laws  under  which 
desert  land,  and  those  under  which  coal,  mineral,  timber  and  stone 
lands  can  be  secured,  should  be  radically  amended.  These  laws 
were  all  passed  with  the  object  of  stimulating  mining,  quarrying,  and 
of  encouraging  the  reclamation  of  the  country's  desert  districts. 
Some  of  the  measures  erred  in  the  direction  of  over-liberality,  while 
others  were  framed  to  put,  as  it  was  hoped,  the  minerals  as  well  as 
the  land  into  the  possession  of  the  poor  man,  and  prevent  their  being 
monopolized  by  wealthy  corporations.  But  in  every  case  the  policy 
was  to  develop  the  natural  resources  as  speedily  as  possible  and 
induce  population  to  enter.  The  policy  has  succeeded  so  far  beyond 
anticipation  that  if  the  legislators  of  a  generation  ago  had  been  able 
to  foresee  the  rapidity  with  which  wealth  would  grow,  and  the 
national  resources  be  proportionately  used  up,  they  might  have  hesi- 
tated to  frame  measures  so  generous,  for  they  have  attracted  to  the 
country  the  most  enterprising  spirits  of  all  Europe,  and  they  have 
afforded  to  men  of  magnificent  powers  of  imagination  and  organ- 
ization, aided  by  great  wealth,  the  material  for  creating  huge  enter- 
prises, which  it  is  now  found  more  difficult  to  control  than  it  was  to 
create. 

In  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution  the  title  to  the  common 
minerals  passed,  under  the  common  law  rule,  to  the  owner  of  the 
soil,  and  the  colonies,  when  they  entered  the  Federation,  retained 
control  of  these  lands.  But  the  mineral  lands  owned  by  the  United 
States  after  the  Revolution  were  disposed  of  under  three  statutes. 

1.  An  Ordinance    (May,    1785),   entitled   "An   Ordinance   for 
ascertaining  the  mode  of  disposing  of  lands  in  the  Western  Terri- 
tory," which  was  of  the  vaguest  character. 

2.  The  Lode  Law  of  1866. 

3.  The  General  Mining  Law  of  1872,  known  as  the  Law  of 
the  Apex. 

There  was  substantially  no  mining  done  in  the  United  States 
till  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  the  acquisition  of  the  lead  mines 
of  Missouri,  which  had  been  one  of  the  most  alluring  baits  of  Law's 
Mississippi  scheme.  As  a  result  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  a  law 
was  passed  in  1807  to  the  effect  that  "the  President  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  and  is  hereby  authorized  to  lease  any  lead  mine  which 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          139 

has  been  or  may  hereafter  be  discovered  in  the  Indian  Territory  for 
a  period  not  exceeding  five  years."  The  leasing  of  mineral  lands 
was  entrusted  to  the  War  Department,  but  it  did  not  impose  on  it 
a  heavy  burden  till  1845,  when,  after  the  extinction  of  the  Michigan 
Indian  titles  in  1843,  active  mining  commenced  in  the  native  copper 
deposits  of  Lake  Superior.  For  two  years  only,  subsequently  to 
1845,  tne  system  of  leasing  was  carried  out.  It  was  the  system 
inherited  from  the  mother  country,  but  badly  practiced  when  applied 
on  the  large  scale  of  inexperienced  officials. 

The  Hon.  Abraham  S.  Hewitt,  in  his  interesting  address  to  the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers  on  "A  Century  of  Mining," 
tells  of  the  process  by  which  the  leasing  system  was  supplanted  by 
the  out-and-out  purchase  system:* 

"For  a  few  years  the  rents  were  paid  with  tolerable  regularity, 
but  after  1834,  in  consequence  of  the  immense  number  of  illegal 
entries  of  mineral  land  at  the  Wisconsin  land  office,  the  smelters  and 
miners  refused  to  make  any  further  payments,  and  the  Government 
was  entirely  unable  to  collect  them.  After  much  trouble  and  ex- 
pense, it  was,  in  1847,  finally  concluded  that  the  only  way  was  to 
sell  the  mineral  land,  and  do  away  with  all  reserves  of  lead  or  any 
other  metal,  since  they  had  only  been  a  source  of  embarrassment  to 
the  department. 

"Meanwhile,  by  a  forced  construction  (afterwards  declared 
invalid)  of  the  same  Act,  hundreds  of  leases  were  granted  to  specu- 
lators in  the  Lake  Superior  copper  region,  which  was  from  1843 
to  1846  the  scene  of  wild  and  baseless  excitement.  The  bubble  burst 
during  the  latter  year ;  the  issue  of  permits  and  leases  was  suspended 
as  illegal,  and  the  Act  of  1847,  authorizing  the  sale  of  the  mineral 
lands  and  a  geological  survey  of  the  district,  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  more  substantial  property." 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  reform  of  the  working  of  the  leasing 
system,  instead  of  its  abolition,  would  not  have  been  a  wiser  course ; 
but  the  radical  step  of  alienating  absolutely  the  mineral  lands  was 
recommended  by  President  Polk  on  December  2d,  1845,  and  enacted 
into  law,  and  the  copper  lands  of  Michigan  were  offered  for  sale 
at  $5  an  acre,  the  price  at  which  mineral  lands  have  ever  since  been 
disposed  of. 

*  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  Vol.  V.  p.  181. 


I4o  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  principal  argument  adduced  by  President  Polk  for  the 
change  of  policy  is  the  unprofitableness  of  leasing.  He  says: 

"According  to  the  official  records,  the  amount  of  rents  received 
by  the  Government  for  the  years  1841,  1842,  1843,  and  1844,  was 
$6,354.74,  while  the  expenses  of  the  system  during  the  same  period, 
including  salaries  of  the  superintendents,  agents,  clerks  and  incidental 
expenses,  were  $26.111.11,  the  income  being  less  than  one- fourth 
of  the  expense.  To  this  pecuniary  loss  may  be  added  the  injury 
sustained  by  the  public  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  timber, 
and  the  careless  and  wasteful  manner  of  working  the  mines." 

But  President  Fillmore,  in  his  annual  message  to  Congress  on 
December  2d,  1849,  referring  to  the  application  of  the  land  laws  to 
the  newly-acquired  territory  of  California,  gives  as  the  most  logical 
reason  for  the  out-and-out  sale  of  the  public  lands  that  "the  relation 
of  debtor  and  creditor  between  the  citizens  and  the  Government 
would  be  attended  with  many  mischievous  consequences."  The 
public  feeling  in  favor  of  actual  ownership  of  land  has  always  been 
strong. 

The  first  mining  excitement  followed  J:he  first  successful  effort 
to  mine  the  metallic  copper  of  Lake  Superior,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  result  was  the  adoption  of  the  sale  in  preference  to  the  lease 
system.  The  next  modification  of  importance  followed  the  rush 
for  gold  in  California,  then  a  remote  section,  newly  acquired  by  con- 
quest and  subsequent  treaty.  To  meet  local  exigencies,  a  mining 
code  was  framed  by  the  miners,  through  methods  curiously  illus- 
trative of  the  working  of  popular  institutions. 

When  California  was  occupied  by  the  United  States  the  Mexi- 
can mining  laws  were  in  force,  and  till  1849  tne  conquered  province 
remained  under  military  rule.  Colonel  Mason,  the  Governor,  while 
still  ignorant  that  the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  had  been  signed 
on  February  2d,  issued  the  following  proclamation  from  Monterey 
on  February  I2th,  1848: 

"From  and  after  this  date  the  Mexican  laws  and  customs  now 
prevailing  in  California  relative  to  the  denouncement  of  mines  are 
hereby  abolished. 

"The  legality  of  the  denouncements  which  have  taken  place, 
and  the  possession  obtained  under  them  since,  till  the  occupation 
of  the  country  by  the  United  States  forces,  are  questions  which  will 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          141 

be  disposed  of  by  the  American  Government  after  a  definite  treaty 
of  peace  shall  have  been  established  between  the  two  Republics." 

Without  questioning  the  right  of  Colonel  Mason  to  revoke  arbi- 
trarily the  existing  mining  law,  the  miners  obeyed,  and  framed  rules 
and  regulations,  not  only  for  regulating  the  conduct  of  mining,  but 
for  the  mode  of  acquiring  the  mines  themselves,  although  all  of 
them  were  virtually  trespassers  on  the  public  domain. 

Hence  arose  the  custom,  afterwards  embodied  in  the  United 
States  statute,  of  allowing  neighboring  miners  to  create  a  mining 
district  and  constitute  themselves  into  a  legislative  body,  whose  rules 
and  regulations,  if  not  contrary  to  either  Federal  or  State  or  Terri- 
torial laws,  have  a  binding  obligation.  These  self-constituted  legis- 
lators in  California  followed  the  Mexican  code  so  far  as  it  applied 
to  discovery  and  development,  but  they  introduced  into  their  mining 
code  a  principle  which  had  no  place  in  any  modern  mining  statute. 
To  them  the  ownership  of  the  surface  was  subsidiary  to  that  of  the 
lode  or  quartz  vein,  which  might  happen  to  crop  out  at  any  given 
spot.  Therefore  they  conceded  to  the  owner  of  the  outcrop  the 
right  to  follow  his  discovery  to  any  depth,  and  under  the  "dip,  spur 
and  angle  clause"  of  their  amateur  regulation,  created  extra-lateral 
rights  and  introduced  the  law  of  the  Apex,  which  came  to  be  the 
distinguishing  feature  of  the  statutes  passed  in  1866  and  1872,  and 
which  has  remained  unaltered  till  to-day.  This  anomalous  law  of 
the  Apex  was  apparently  copied  from  an  old  custom  confined  to  the 
High  Peak  district  of  Derbyshire,  and  probably  incorporated  in  the 
California  mining  code  at  the  suggestion  of  some  English  miners. 
Judge  Field,  who  was  ultimately  elevated  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  but  who  had  been  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Cali- 
fornia— an  alcalde  before  the  admission  of  the  State — a  legislator 
in  the  first  Assembly,  and  a  State  judge,  thus  graphically  describes 
the  process  by  which  these  mining  regulations  were  framed  by  these 
early  intelligent  miners : 

"The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  was  followed,  as  is  well 
known,  by  an  immense  immigration  into  the  State,  which  increased 
its  population  within  three  or  four  years  from  a  few  thousand  to 
several  hundred  thousand.  The  lands  in  which  the  precious  metals 
were  found  belonged  to  the  United  States,  and  were  unsurveyed 
and  not  open  by  law  to  occupation  and  settlement.  Little  was 
known  of  them  further  than  that  they  were  situated  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains.  Into  these  mountains  the  emigrants  in  vast 


142  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

numbers  penetrated,  occupying  the  ravines,  gulches  and  canyons, 
and  probing  the  earth  in  all  directions  for  the  precious  metals. 
Wherever  they  went  they  carried  with  them  that  love  of  order  and 
system  and  of  fair  dealing  which  are  the  prominent  characteristics 
of  our  people.  In  every  district  which  they  occupied  they  framed 
certain  rules  for  their  government,  by  which  the  extent  of  ground 
they  could  severally  hold  for  mining  was  designated,  their  possessory 
right  to  such  ground  secured  and  enforced,  and  contests  between 
them  either  avoided  or  determined.  These  rules  bore  a  marked 
similarity,  varying  in  several  districts  only  according  to  the  extent 
and  character  of  the  mines;  distinct  provision  being  made  for  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  mining,  such  as  placer  mining,  quartz  mining,  and 
mining  in  drifts  and  tunnels.  They  all  recognized  discovery,  fol- 
lowed by  appropriation,  as  the  foundation  of  the  possessor's  title, 
and  development  by  working  as  the  condition  of  its  retention.  And 
they  were  so  framed  as  to  secure  to  all  comers  within  practicable 
limits  absolute  equality  of  right  and  privilege  in  working  the  mines. 
Nothing  but  such  equality  would  have  been  tolerated  by  the  miners, 
who  were  emphatically  the  law-makers,  as  respects  mining  upon  the 
public  lands  in  the  State.  The  first  appropriator  was  everywhere 
held  to  have,  within  certain  well-defined  limits,  a  better  right  than 
others  to  the  claims  taken  up;  and  in  all  controversies,  except  as 
against  the  Government,  he  was  regarded  as  the  original  owner, 
from  whom  title  was  to  traced  .  .  .  These  regulations  and 
customs  were  appealed  to  in  controversies  in  the  State  courts,  and 
received  their  sanction;  and  properties  to  the  value  of  many  millions 
rested  upon  them.  For  eighteen  years,  from  1848  to  1866,  the  regu- 
lations and  customs  of  miners,  as  enforced  and  moulded  by  the 
courts  and  sanctioned  by  the  legislation  of  the  State,  constituted  the 
law  governing  property  in  mines  and  in  water  on  the  public  mineral 
lands/' 

The  Argonauts  not  only  carried  to  the  west  coast  the  habits 
of  self-government  which  were  the  heritage  of  the  race,  but  carried 
them  into  practice  with  the  same  independence  and  originality  as 
characterize  most  of  the  legislation  of  the  colonists  of  Australia. 

The  rapid  development  of  the  Comstock  Lode,  after  its  discov- 
ery in  1859,  rendered  the  framing  of  a  Federal  mining  law  a  matter 
of  necessity,  and  therefore  in  1866  Congress  enacted  the  first  law 
under  which  a  Federal  title  could  be  obtained  to  Federal  mining  land. 
The  provisions  of  the  Act  are  as  vague  as  its  title — "An  Act  granting 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          143 

the  right  of  way  to  ditch  and  canal  owners  through  the  public  lands, 
and  for  other  purposes."     Lindley  says  (I.  p.  53)  : 

"The  title  gives  no  clue  to  the  scope  of  the  Act.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  title  belonged  to  another  Act  which  had  passed  the 
House,  and  for  which  the  Mining  Act  was  substituted  in  the  Senate, 
without  any  attempt  to  change  the  title,  and  in  this  form  passed  both 
houses." 

The  Act  provided: 

"i.  That  all  the  mineral  lands  of  the  public  domain  should  be 
free  and  open  to  exploration  and  occupation. 

"2.  The  rights  which  had  been  acquired  in  these  lands  under  a 
system  of  local  rules,  with  the  apparent  acquiescence  and  sanction  of 
the  Government,  should  be  recognized  and  confirmed. 

"3.  That  titles  to  at  least  certain  classes  of  mineral  deposits 
or  lands  containing  them  might  be  ultimately  obtained." 

The  Act,  however,  which  is  still  in  force,  is  that  passed  in  1872 
as  "An  Act  to  Promote  the  Development  of  the  Mining  Resources  of 
the  United  States."  The  Act  expresses  decisively  the  liberality  with 
which  the  country  has  disposed  of  its  mineral  lands,  and  the  result 
has  certainly  justified  its  title  and  intent.  The  Preamble  states : 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  i.  That  all 
valuable  mineral  deposits  in  land  belonging  to  the  United  States, 
both  surveyed  and  unsurveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and 
open  to  exploration  and  purchase,  and  the  lands  in  which  they  are 
found  to  occupation  and  purchase,  by  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
and  those  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  such,  under 
regulations  prescribed  by  law,  and  according  to  the  local  customs 
or  rules  of  miners,  in  the  several  mining  districts  so  far  as  the  same 
are  applicable  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States." 

The  extent  of  the  mining  claim  is  prescribed  as  follows: 

"A  mining  claim  located  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  whether 
located  by  one  or  more  persons,  may  equal,  but  shall  not  exceed,  one 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  in  length  along  the  vein  or  lode ;  but  no 
location  of  a  mining  claim  shall  be  made  until  the  discovery  of  the 
vein  or  lode  within  the  limits  of  the  claim  located.  No  claim  shall 
extend  more  than  three  hundred  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of 
the  vein  at  the  surface,  nor  .shall  any  claim  be  limited,  by  any  mining 


144  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

regulation,  to  less  than  twenty-five  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle 
of  the  vein  at  the  surface,  except  where  adverse  rights  existing  at 
the  passage  of  this  Act  shall  render  such  limitation  necessary.  The 
end  lines  of  each  claim  shall  be  parallel  to  each  other." 

The  extralateral  rights  of  the  early  California  regulation  are 
secured  to  the  locator  under  the  Federal  law,  under  the  third  clause 
of  the  Act: 

"That  the  locators  of  all  mining  locations  heretofore  made.  .  .  . 
shall  have  the  exclusive  right  of  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  the 
surface  included  within  the  lines  of  their  locations  and  of  all  veins, 
lodes  or  ledges,  throughout  their  entire  depth,  the  top  or  apex  of 
which  lies  inside  of  such  surface  lines  extended  downward  vertically, 
although  such  veins,  lodes  or  ledges  may  so  far  depart  from  a  per- 
pendicular in  their  course  downward  as  to  extend  outside  the  vertical 
side  lines  of  the  said  surface  locations ;  provided  that  their  right  of 
possession  to  such  outside  parts  of  said  veins  or  ledges  shall  be 
confined  to  such  portions  thereof  as  lie  between  vertical  planes 
drawn  downward  as  aforesaid,  through  the  end  lines  of  their  loca- 
tions, so  continued  in  their  own  direction  that  such  planes  will  inter- 
sect such  exterior  parts  of  said  veins  or  ledges.  And  provided  fur- 
ther, that  nothing  in  this  section  shall  authorize  the  locator  or  pos- 
sessor of  a  vein  or  lode  which  extends,  in  its  downward  course, 
beyond  the  vertical  lines  of  his  claim,  to  enter  upon  the  surface  of  a 
claim  owned  or  possessed  by  another." 

Whether  granting  these  extralateral  rights  has  advanced  the 
progress  of  mining  is  a  disputed  question,  but  they  have  been  the 
source  of  most  protracted  and  costly  litigation. 

The  Act  prescribes  the  manner  in  which  a  mining  claim  must 
be  monumented  and  recorded,  and  the  amount  of  work  which  must 
be  actually  done  upon  it,  either  above  or  below  ground  per  annum 
($100)  in  order  to  secure  possessory  rights.  No  rent  or  royalty 
is  exacted  by  the  Federal  Government,  but  after  $500  have  been 
expended  on  the  claim,  the  possessory  title  may  be  converted  into 
an  absolute  patented  title  by  the  payment  of  $5  per  acre.  The  Act 
is  admittedly  defective  in  many  of  its  provisions,  but  in  criticising 
it,  one  must  remember  and  appreciate  that  motive  which  actuated 
the  people,  through  their  legislators,  in  throwing  open  all  their  lands, 
agricultural  and  mineral,  not  only  to  occupation,  but  to  actual  owner- 
ship by  citizens  or  by  any  one  who  has  "declared  his  intention  to 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          145 

become  such."  Under  the  Homestead  Act  the  agricultural  land  is 
given  freely;  under  the  mining  law  no  charge  is  made  for  the 
possessory  title,  and  for  a  patent  to  a  mining  claim  the  trifling  price 
of  five  dollars  per  acre,  hardly  enough  to  meet  the  administration 
cost  of  the  land  department.  Considering  the  incalculable  hidden 
mineral  wealth  of  the  western  half  of  the  continent,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  active  spirits  of  the  world  accepted  the  cordial 
invitation  to  share  it  on  such  liberal  terms,  and  that  it  has  been 
uncovered,  developed  and  marketed  with  extraordinary  speed,  at 
extravagant  profits,  and  that  it  has  created  spasms  of  speculative 
mania,  which  have  perhaps  not  had  a  healthy  effect  on  public  morals. 

Mining  companies  are  permitted  the  liberal  allowance  of  500x3 
acres,  but  if  a  company  reaches  its  limit,  the  same  shareholders 
simply  organize  another.  Metal  mining,  therefore,  on  a  large  scale 
can  be  carried  on  without  evasion  of  any  law. 

Most  of  the  coal  and  iron  is  mined  east  of  the  Missouri,  and 
their  possession  passed  to  the  owners  of  the  land.  But  the  gold  and 
silver,  and  most  of  the  copper,  are  produced  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
States  under  the  liberal  Federal  laws  which  we  have  described.  The 
sum  total  in  value  for  1911,  as  given  by  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  is  as  follows : 

Non-metallic  products   $1,235,896,653 

Metallic    672,179,600 

Unclassified   250,000 


$1,908,326,253 

Assuming  the  most  modest  estimate  of  actual  profits  on  this 
large  sum.  we  begin  to  appreciate  the  wealth  that  is  accumulating  in 
the  country.  Nor  does  this  all  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  shareholders 
of  the  large  mining  companies.  If  we  take,  for  instance,  the 
2,000,000  acres  of  mineral  lands  which  have  been  sold  by  the  Federal 
Government,  by  far  the  largest  proportion  has  been  first  located 
by  prospectors  and  sold  at  often  high  figures.  The  poor  man  has 
been  given  the  prospects,  gratis,  by  the  Federal  Government,  while 
the  corporation  has  paid  him  the  higher  value  of  a  merely  promising, 
though  perhaps  undeveloped  holding,  which  in  most  cases  never 
develops  into  a  mine.  Comparatively  little  actual  mining  is  done 
by  the  poor  man.  He  avoids  exposing  more  ore  than  will  give  pre- 
sumptive value  to  his  claim,  and  even  if  it  proves  to  be  a  claim 


I46  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

which  may  develop  into  a  mine,  he  obtains  for  it  a  high  speculative 
value. 

COAL  LAND  LAWS. 

The  Coal  Land  Laws,  regulating  the  sale  of  coal  lands,  date 
from  July  ist,  1864,  and  March  I3th,  1865,  but  the  Act  under  which 
most  of  the  coal  lands  have  been  sold  came  into  effect  in  1873. 

The  coal  land  laws  offer  an  interesting  study  of  good  intentions 
misapplied.  The  lawmakers  applied  to  coal  lands  the  rules  which 
were  quite  applicable  to  agricultural  lands.  They  did  not  offer  the 
coal  for  nothing,  but  they  put  a  very  small  value  on  the  land  which 
covers  it,  and  parted  with  land  and  coal  together. 

But  the  law  limits  the  amount  of  coal  land  which  can  be  taken 
under  a  single  entry  to  160  acres — the  agricultural  quarter  section 
— and  forbids  more  than  two  contiguous  entries  to  be  consolidated 
into  a  working  organization.  After  the  formalities  have  been  ful- 
filled and  the  land  paid  for,  as  in  the  case  of  agricultural  land,  the 
entryman  can  do  what  he  likes  with  his  own  property,  but  if  he  has 
made  a  contract,  implied  or  expressed,  to  sell  his  coal,  before  he 
actually  obtains  his  patent,  he  is  subject  to  criminal  action  and  the 
forfeiture  of  his  property.* 

The  coal  land  laws,  under  which  all  coal  lands  under  control 
of  the  Federal  Government  have  until  recently  been  disposed  of, 
provides  that — 

"Every  person  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  is  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  or  who  has  declared  his  intention  to 
become  such,  or  any  association  of  persons  severally  qualified  as 
above,  shall,  upon  application  to  the  register  of  the  proper  land 
office,  have  the  right  to  enter,  by  legal  subdivisions,  any  quantity 
of  vacant  coal  lands  of  the  United  States  not  otherwise  appropriated 
or  reserved  by  competent  authority,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  to  such  individual  person,  or  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  to  such  association,  upon  payment  to  the  receiver  of  not  less 
than  ten  dollars  per  acre  for  such  lands,  where  the  same  shall  be 
situated  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  any  completed  railroad,  and 
not  less  than  twenty  dollars  per  acre  for  such  lands  as  shall  be  within 
fifteen  miles  of  such  road." 


*The  coal  land  entries,  from  the  passage  of  the  Act,  March  3rd,  1873: 
to  June  30th,  1912,  were  3982,  covering  576,280  acres.  (Report  of  the 
Public  Land  Commission,  1912.) 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          147 

The  declaration  which  the  entryman  made  was  as  follows : 

"I, ,  hereby  apply,  under  the  provisions  of  'the 

Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  relating  to  the  sale  of  coal 
lands  of  the  Township  of ,  of  range ,  in  the  dis- 
trict of  lands- subject  to  sale  at  the  land  office  at ,  and 

containing  acres;  and  I  solemnly  swear  that  no  portion 

of  said  tract  is  in  the  possession  of  any  other  party;  that  I  am 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  (or  have 
declared  my  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States),  and 
have  never  held  nor  purchased  lands  under  said  Act,  either  as  an 
individual  or  as  member  of  an  association ;  and  I  do  further  swear 
that  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of  said  described  land, 
and  with  each  and  every  legal  subdivision  thereof,  having  frequently 
passed  over  the  same;  that  my  knowledge  of  said  land  is  such  as 
to  enable  me  to  testify  understandingly  with  regard  thereto,  that 
said  land  contains  large  deposits  of  coal,  and  is  chiefly  valuable 
therefor;  that  there  is  not,  to  my  knowledge,  within  the  limits 
thereof  any  vein  or  lode  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place  bearing 
gold,  silver  or  copper,  and  that  there  is  not  within  the  limits  of  said 
land,  to  my  knowledge,  any  valuable  deposit  of  gold,  silver  or  copper. 
So  help  me  God." 

The  affidavit  is  so  worded  that  it  renders  liable  to  prosecution 
for  perjury  every  entryman  who  has  even  a  remote  intention  of  sell- 
ing his  claim,  and  not  working  it  himself.  But  the  law  was  admin- 
istered with  reasonable  latitude.  Still  it  is  manifestly  inapplicable 
to  the  present  industrial  conditons. 

President  Roosevelt,  in  his  message  to  Congress  on  December 
1 7th,  said: 

"1"  am  gravely  concerned  at  the  extremely  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition of  the  public  land  laws,  and  at  the  prevalence  of  fraud  under 
their  present  provisions.  For  much  of  this  fraud  the  present  laws 
are  chiefly  responsible.  There  is  but  one  way  by  which  the  fraud- 
ulent acquisition  of  these  lands  can  be  definitely  stopped,  and  there- 
fore I  have  directed  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  allow  no  patent 
to  be  issued  to  public  lands  under  any  law  until  by  an  examination 
on  the  ground  actual  compliance  with  that  law  has  been  found  to 
exist.  For  this  purpose  an  increase  of  special  agents  in  the  General 
Land  Office  is  urgently  required ;  unless  it  is  given,  bona  fide  would- 
be  settlers  will  be  put  to  grave  inconvenience,  or  else  the  fraud  will 
in  large  part  go  on. 


148  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

"Further,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  should  be  enabled  to 
employ  enough  mining  experts  to  examine  the  validity  of  all  mineral 
land  claims,  and  to  undertake  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  use 
of  the  mineral  fuels  still  belonging  to  the  United  States.  The  pres- 
ent coal  law  limiting  the  individual  entry  to  160  acres  puts  a  pre- 
mium on  fraud  by  making  it  impossible  to  develop  certain  types  of 
coal  fields  and  yet  comply  with  the  law.  It  is  a  scandal  to  main- 
tain laws  which  sound  well,  but  which  make  fraud  the  key  without 
which  great  natural  resources  must  remain  closed.  The  law  should 
give  individuals  and  corporations,  under  proper  Government  regu- 
lation and  control  (the  details  of  which  I  shall  not  at  present  dis- 
cuss), the  right  to  work  bodies  of  coal  land  large  enough  for  profit- 
able development.  My  own  belief  is  that  there  should  be  provision 
for  leasing  coal,  oil  and  gas  rights  under  proper  restrictions.  If  the 
additional  force  of  special  agents  and  mining  experts  I  recommend 
is  provided  and  well  used,  the  result  will  be  not  only  to  stop  the  land 
frauds,  but  to  prevent  delays  in  patenting  valid  land  claims,  and  to 
conserve  the  indispensable  fuel  resources  of  the  nation." 

The  President's  recommendation  to  amend  the  laws  in  the  direc- 
tion of  leasing  instead  of  selling  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of 
Congress,  which  adheres  to  the  traditional  national  preference  for 
private  ownership.  President  Taft  favored  leasing. 

The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  in  his  report  for 
1909  to  his  superior,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  says,  under  the 
heading,  "Coal  Land  Legislation": 

"Attention  is  called  to  this  because  of  the  demand  for  the  con- 
servation of  the  natural  resources,  and  because  of  the  entire  inade- 
quacy of  present  legislation  either  for  the  conservation  or  for  the 
proper  development  of  either  coal  or  "oil  lands.  In  his  Message  to 
Congress  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  session  of  the  Sixtieth  Con- 
gress, President  Roosevelt  endorsed  your  recommendation  in  the 
following  words: 

f<  'In  my  judgment  the  Government  should  have  the  right  to 
keep  the  fee  of  the  coal,  oil  and  gas  fields  in  its  own  possession,  and 
to  lease  the  rights  to  develop  them  under  proper  regulations ;  or  else, 
if  the  Congress  will  not  adopt  this  method,  the  coal  deposits  should 
•be  sold  under  limitations,  to  conserve  them  as  public  utilities,  the 
right  to  mine  coal  being  separated  from  the  title  to  the  soil.' 

"After  this  endorsement  of  your  recommendation,   President 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          149 

Roosevelt,  recognizing  the  absurdity  of  present  limitation  in  regard 
to  area,  added : 

"  The  regulations  should  permit  coal  lands  to  be  worked  in 
sufficient  quantity  by  the  several  corporations.  The  present  limita- 
tions have  been  absurd,  excessive,  and  serve  no  useful  purpose,  and 
often  render  it  necessary  that  there  should  be  either  fraud  or  else 
abandonment  of  the  work  of  getting  out  the  coal/ 

"The  conditions  which  existed  then  exist  to-day,  and  the  situa- 
tion which  is  thus  created,  and  which  was  recognized  by  President 
Roosevelt,  is  as  intolerable  now  as  it  was  then. 

"Any  legislation  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  coal  lands  by  lease 
or  otherwise,  should  contain  a  strong  anti-trust  clause,  and  a  pro- 
vision which  would  prevent  any  agreement  to  abstain  from  mining 
the  coal.  If  it  should  be  determined  to  lease  on  a  royalty,  then 
unless  such  a  clause  be  inserted,  so  that  open  competition  may  be 
maintained,  the  charge  of  the  royalty  will  mean  nothing  more  than 
that  the  public  will  pay  the  additional  price.  This  would  not  in  any 
way  relieve  the  situation/' 

The  result  of  the  agitation  so  far  has  been  that,  as  the  admin- 
istration could  not  get  a  law  through  Congress  which  met  with  gen- 
eral approval,  President  Roosevelt  used  his  executive  authority  to 
withdraw  all  coal  lands  from  entry,  pending  contemplated  legislation 
and  revised  regulation.  No  new  laws  have  been  passed,  but  the 
Interior  Department,  through  the  Geological  Survey,  has  been 
revaluing  all  the  unceded  coal  lands  in  the  public  domain,  assigning 
a  specific  value  to  each  coal  area,  based  upon  the  quality  of  the  fuel, 
ease  of  extraction,  facility  for  transportation,  etc.  The  task  is  a 
difficult  one,  especially  when  applied  to  Alaska,  where  there  are  un- 
doubtedly very  large  coal  resources,  but  where  little  or  no  work  has 
been  done  to  determine  the  extent  to  which  faulting  has  disturbed 
the  beds  or  modified  the  character  of  the  coal. 

The  agitation  about  the  disposal  of  coal  lands  applies  only  to 
the  quantity  still  under  control  of  the  Federal  Government,  viz., 
that  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Pacific  Coast  section.  Elsewhere 
in  all  the  older  States,  except  Louisiana,*  the  lands  and  the  minerals 
beneath  them,  have  become  private  property  under  the  English 
common  law  rule. 

The  area  of  the  coal  lands  of  the  United  States  is  estimated 
by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  at  496,776  square  miles,  of 

*  "Land  Question,"  Sato,  p.  13. 


/SO  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

which  480  square  miles  consist  of  the  anthracite  coal  lands  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 148,609  square  miles  of  lignite,  leaving  250,051  miles  of 
bituminous  coal.f  The  same  authorities  estimate  the  quantity  of 
coal  of  all  grades  contained  under  that  area  as  follows : 

ORIGINAL  COAL  SUPPLY. 

Anthracite    &    bituminous   250.531  1.176,72Easily  Amt.  Accessible  Easily  Accessible 

Sq.  Miles.    Shoressible.  with  Difficulty.        Available. 

Ace  t  Tons.  Short  Tons.             Short  Tons. 

Area.      Amt.  7,000,000  505,730,000,000  1,176,727,000,000 

Total  496,776  1,922,977,000,000  293,450,000,000 

Sub-bituminous    .      97,636     356,705,000,000  354,045,000,000      216,252,000,000 


Lignite   148,609     389,549,000,000    1,153,225,000,000  1,392,979,000,000 

No  large  section  of  the  country,  except  the  New  England  States 
and  California,  is  deprived  of  the  blessing  of  its  own  fuel  supply. 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  are  dependent  on  their  neighbors  for 
coal,  but  this  dependence  is  really  geographical,  not  economical. 

This  wide  and  almost  uniform  diffusion  of  the  essential  element 
of  industrial  development  has  contributed  largely  to  rendering  pos- 
sible the  material  progress  of  the  country;  while  at  the  same  time 
it  has  been  politically  a  unifying  force  by  diffusing  manufactures 
and  reducing  the  dangerous  sectionalism,  which  at  one  time  grew 
out  of  the  prevalence  of  localized  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
interests  and  prejudices.  The  large  area  of  the  coal  fields,  as  well 
as  the  favorable  structure  and  deposition  of  the  bituminous  coal- 
beds  (the  bituminous  beds  being  generally  horizontal),  has  enabled 
•coal  and  coke  to  be  almost  everywhere  sold  at  lower  figures  than 
prevail  in  the  metallurgical  centres  of  Europe.  Coal  from  many 
of  the  districts  in  the  East,  South  and  Middle  West,  is  sold  on  the 
cars  at  80  cents  to  $i  per  ton  of  2000  pounds,  and  $1.25  has  been 
a  high  price  in  the  West. 

The  conservation  of  the  national  resources  of  the  country  has 
recently  become  a  prominent  political  issue,  and  has  passed  out  of 
the  domain  of  scientific  inquiry  and  calm  discussion  into  that  of 
bitter  partisan  strife.  That  the  laws  are  too  liberal  and  too  loosely 
administered  is  becoming  the  general  opinion;  but  they  have,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  national  growth,  been  so  eminently  and  con- 
spicuously successful,  that  even  those  who  are  most  keenly  sensible 
of  their  defects,  hesitate  to  call  a  halt  of  the  national  progress  by 
trying  legislative  experiments  with  them. 

t  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  Vol.  XL 
P.  254. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          151 

Mr.  Ballinger's  report  as  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for  1909, 
however,  reflects  the  popular  opinion  when  he  makes  strictures  on 
the  operation  of  the  old  land  laws  and  recommendations  for  the 
future.  He  says: 

"The  proper  use  and  disposition  of  the  public  lands  have  been 
questions  involving  no  little  legislative  as  well  as  administrative 
difficult  from  the  beginning  of  their  history.  They  were,  during 
the  earliest  administrations,  treated  as  a  national  asset  for  the 
liquidation  of  the  public  debt  and  as  a  source  of  reward  for  our  sol- 
diers and  sailors.  Not  until  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Pacific 
slope  did  the  policy  change  for  one  of  exploitation,  by  which  our 
citizens  were  encouraged  to  develop  the  mineral  and  agricultural 
resources  of  the  public  domain  on  condition  of  receiving  limited 
areas  at  a  nominal  cost.  For  similar  reasons,  railway  and  wagon 
road  grants  were  liberally  donated  by  Congress  in  order  to  add 
facilities  for  the  opening  up  of  these  almost  inaccessible  regions. 

"The  railwav  grants  generally  were  limited  to  non-mineral  lands, 
except  such  as  contained  coal  and  iron,  which  latter  minerals  were 
taken  to  be  essential  for  railway  construction  and  operation.  New 
States  were,  when  admitted,  liberally  endowed  with  public  lands  for 
school  and  other  purposes ;  so  that,  out  of  a  public  domain  in  1860 
of  1,055,911,288  acres  (Alaska  then  not  belonging  to  the  United 
States),  we  now  have  only  about  731.354,081  acres,  confined  largely 
to  the  mountain  ranges  and  the  arid  and  semi-arid  plains,  except 
lands  within  some  of  the  Indian  reservations  and  the  368,035,975 
acres  of  undisposed-of  land  in  Alaska. 

"All  of  the  principal  land  statutes  were  enacted  over  twenty- 
five  years  ago;  the  Homestead  Act,  the  Pre-emption  and  Timber 
Culture  Acts,  the  Coal  Land,  and  the  Mining  Acts  for  the  aid  of 
the  industrious  prospector,  were  among  the  earlier  Acts  of  this 
nature. 

"The  liberal  and  rapid  disposition  of  the  public  lands  under 
these  statutes,  and  the  lax  methods  of  administration  which  for  a 
long  time  prevailed,  naturally  provoked  the  feeling  that  the  public 
domain  was  legitimate  prey  for  the  unscrupulous,  and  that  it  was 
no  crime  to  violate  or  circumvent  the  land  laws.  It  is  to  be  regret- 
ed  that  we,  as  a  nation,  were  so  tardy  to  realize  the  importance  of 
preventing  so  large  a  measure  of  our  natural  resources  passing  into 
the  hands  of  land  pirates  and  speculators,  with  no  view  to  develop- 
ment looking  to  the  national  welfare.  It  may  be  safely  said  that 


I52  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

millions  of  acres  of  timber  and  other  lands  have  been  unlawfully 
obtained,  and  it  is  also  true  that  actions  to  recover  such  lands  have 
in  most  instances  long  since  been  barred  by  the  Statute  of  Limita- 
tions. The  principal  awakening  to  our  wasteful  course  came  under 
your  predecessor's  administration.  The  bold  and  vigorous  prosecu- 
tions of  land  frauds,  through  Secretaries  Hitchcock  and  Garfield, 
have  restored  a  salutary  respect  for  the  law,  and  the  public  mind 
has  rapidly  grasped  the  importance  of  safeguarding  the  further  dis- 
position of  our  natural  resources  in  the  public  lands  in  the  interest 
of  the  public  goods  as  against  private  greed.  Notwithstanding  this, 
it  is  necessary  to  continue  with  utmost  vigor,  through  all  available 
sources,  the  securing  of  information  of  violations  of  the  public  land 
laws,  and  to  follow  such  violations  with  rigid  prosecutions. 

"In  this  present  policy  of  conserving  the  natural  resources  of 
the  public  domain,  while  development  is  the  keynote,  the  best 
thought  of  the  day  is  not  that  development  shall  be  by  national  agen- 
cies, but  that  wise  utilization  shall  be  secured  through  private  enter- 
prise under  national  supervision  and  control.  Therefore,  if  material 
progress  is  to  be  made  in  securing  the  best  use  of  our  remaining 
public  lands,  Congress  must  be  called  upon  to  enact  remedial  legis- 
lation/' 

These  strictures  are  hardly  fair,  and  are  perhaps  too  sweeping. 
The  old  laws  were  framed  to  encourage  the  development  of  the 
country.  As  is  the  case  the  world  over,  certain  men  of  exceptional 
foresight  and  ability  used  them  to  secure  from  the  public  domain, 
at  a  trifling  price — but  not  necessarily  or  generally  by  fraud — large 
areas,  especially  of  coal,  oil  and  mineral  lands,  which  when  devel- 
oped have  proved,  especially  under  the  protection  of  the  tariff,  of 
enormous  value.  Their  value  was  not  appreciated  when  the  laws 
were  made,  and  these  laws  did  not  prevent  any  citizen  who  came 
into  possession  of  land  as  a  gift  from  the  State  or  as  entryman  of 
a  homestead,  or  as  the  purchaser  of  a  quarter  section  of  coal  lands, 
from  selling  it  to  a  corporation,  once  he  had  acquired  a  patent. 
While  some  coal  lands  were  probably  acquired  under  the  Homestead 
Act,  and  then  disposed  of  as  coal  lands,  the  Government  thus  being 
defrauded  out  of  $15  an  acre,  most  coal  and  mineral  lands  have  been 
legally  acquired  with  the  land  or  from  the  original  locators,  or  under 
old  Mexican  grants  in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  by  the  only 
holders  who  could  work  them  safely  and  economically,  by  modern 
mechanical  methods.  The  lawmakers  of  the  first  statutes,  and  the 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          153 

many  legislators  who  have,  since  conditions  have  altered,  recognized 
the  defects  of  the  old  laws,  and  yet  have  not  possessed  the  courage 
to  amend  them,  were  more  at  fault  than  the  men,  whose  accumula- 
tion of  wealth  under  these  laws  has  alarmed  the  public.  If  they 
had  not  developed  the  country's  resources,  there  would  not  have 
been  over  90,000,000  of  people  to  upbraid  them.  Mere  technical 
evasion  of  the  laws,  admittedly  defective,  should  not  be  laid  as 
willful  infraction  to  the  charge  of  the  men  who  have  built  up  the 
great  national  industries.  That  in  the  rush  for  wealth  and  the  pro- 
duction of  quantity  there  has  been  waste  is  beyond  question;  but 
economy  of  necessity  follows  experiences  of  waste  and  of  knowledge 
how  to  avoid  it,  and  none  are  more  anxious  to  save  than  the  big 
financial  industrial  corporations.  Both  in  America  and  elsewhere 
domestic  waste  far  exceeds  industrial  waste. 

That  these  laws  should  have  remained  so  long  unamended,  while 
such  radical  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  industrial  condition  of 
the  country,  was  attributed  by  the  Public  Land  Commission  to  the 
public  "dread  of  the  introduction  of  unfamiliar  requirements,  and 
the  fear  that  new  enactments  may  recognize  physical  conditions 
even  less  than  present  ones,  and  may  be  even  less  suited  to  the  needs 
of  the  country.  By  the  use  of  practice,  sanctioned  by  custom,  the 
people  have  heretofore  been  able  to  get  along  fairly  well ;  any  change 
in  their  mind  is  associated  with  more  difficult  requirements,  and  they 
dread  innovations  which  may  hinder  rather  than  help  home-making." 


Plain  Talk. 

GEORGE  OTIS  SMITH, 
DIRECTOR  U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Whatever  the  forum  selected,  public  discussion  in  America 
tends  to  evoke  more  language  than  ideas.  Most  of  us  err  in  this 
way,  and  we  all  feel  the  influence  when  we  think  aloud  before 
our  assembled  fellows,  with  the  result  that  we  sometimes  strive 
less  for  common  sense  than  for  uncommon  sound.  Plain  ideas 
are  dressed  up  in  borrowed  or  imported  finery  with  all  the  tender 
care  that  a  fond  mother  lavishes  upon  her  little  girl  going  to  a 
first  party,  so  that  too  often  the  practical  man  who  knows  the 
work-a-day  world  at  first  hand  delivers  an  address  conspicuous 
for  the  elegant  words  which  completely  envelop  and  conceal 
plain  facts  and  solid  opinions  that  deserve  more  appropriate 
treatment. 

Plain  talk  is  more  becoming  than  oratory  to  a  time  like  the 
present,  when  the  signs  point  to  large  changes  in  the  world  of 
business  and  industry.  Vital  issues,  that  are  real  and  not  fancied, 
bring  us  together,  and  our  concern  in  these  issues  arises  from 
our  interest  in  our  country  and  ourselves.  The  exact  distribu- 
tion of  this  interest  varies  somewhat  with  the  individual,  but  all 
of  us  are  very  much  alive  to  whatever  affects  the  welfare  of 
ourselves  and  of  our  fellows.  We  need,  then,  only  to  face  these 
issues  squarely  and  discuss  them  in  plain  language.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Mining  Congress  are  men  connected  in 
one  way  or  another  with  the  business  of  taking  out  of  the  ground 
things  that  are  useful.  With  rare  exceptions,  we  are  everyday 
citizens  blessed  with  more  practical  experience  than  theory. 
Our  purpose  in  life,  in  a  business  way,  is  simply  to  put  into  use 
the  mineral  wealth  that  is  now  locked  up  in  the  rock  vaults. 
This  wealth  includes  the  coal  and  oil  that  our  fellow-citizens 
need  for  heating  and  lighting  their  homes  and  running  their 
trains  and  autos,  the  iron  and  copper  and  lead  and  other  metallic 
and  non-metallic  materials  that  are  so  necessary  to  the  structures 


PLAIN  TALK  155 

of  this  Twentieth  Century,  and  the  mineral  fertilizers  without 
which  our  farmers  will  soon  find  themselves  unable  to  feed  us. 
Mining  is  a  productive  industry  of  the  first  rank,  and  it  is  plain 
that  our  mines  are  fairly  essential  to  human  welfare.  Here, 
then,  if  anywhere,  do  the  problems  of  common  interest  to  both 
the  public  and  the  mining  industry  deserve  to  be  discussed  in 
plain  language  that  the  everyday  man  uses  and  understands. 

He  was  a  dreamer  who  complained  that  "the  times  are 
sadly  out  of  joint,"  but  even  practical  men  must  admit  that  we 
are  facing  days  of  great  changes  in  the  relations  of  government 
to  business.  It  is  a  changing  order,  and  this  is  no  time  to  shut 
our  eyes  to  what  is  immediately  before  us.  Precedents  are 
regarded  as  out  of  date,  behind  the  times,  and  the  good  old  days 
of  unrestricted  competition  have  passed,  apparently  never  to 
return.  In  the  language  of  the  street,  it  is  now  up  to  the  prac- 
tical man  to  help  to  steer  the  new  social  movement,  for  to  try 
to  stop  it  is  simply  to  court  disaster,  nor  will  the  quick  applica- 
tion of  brakes  stop  the  skidding.  In  the  world  of  business  an 
evolution  has  begun  which  can  and  should  be  responsive  to  all 
the  conditions  of  industry  and  the  principles  of  economics,  but 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  much  dogged  resistance  to  this 
evolution  by  those  who  might  be  termed  the  second  lieutenants 
of  industry,  such  action  will  simply  tend  to  force  the  public 
approval  and  adoption  of  a  more  revolutionary  policy.  This 
approaching  readjustment  of  the  old  and  new  appears  to  me  a 
dangerous  subject  for  experiments  by  office-seekers,  politicians, 
and  amateur  reformers;  it  will  prove  a  real  task  for  men  ac- 
customed to  measure  costs,  balance  opposing  factors,  and,  above 
all,  patiently  and  impartially  test  out  opinions  with  facts. 

Inasmuch  as  our  Twentieth  Century  civilization  is  in  a  very 
large  degree  due  to  the  work  of  that  class  of  highly  trained 
yet  thoroughly  practical  men  to  whom  we  give  the  collective 
name  engineers,  Professor  Swain  performed  a  needed  public 
service  last  June  when  in  his  presidential  address  he  urged  his 
fellow-members  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  work  of  solving  the  social  problems 
of  today.  The  times  are  indeed  ripe  for  the  citizen  with  an 
engineer's  training  and  experience,  and  especially  with  his 
scientific  breadth  of  view,  and,  above  all,  his  appreciation  of  the 


156  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

controlling  value  of  hard  facts,  to  enter  upon  a  larger  share  of 
the  duties  of  citizenship.  In  a  talk  before  the  Philadelphia 
Engineers'  Club  last  winter  I  stated  the  same  idea  more  pointedly 
when  I  suggested  that  "a  lobby  at  Washington  of  engineers 
with  high  ideals  of  profession  and  citizenship  would  be  a  power 
for  good." 

Mr.  Brook  Adams  just  recently  has  similarly  given  applied 
science  credit  for  the  present  status  of  civilization  and  social 
movement,  and  I  understand  Mr.  Adams'  view  to  be  that  to  the 
employment  and  generous  support  of  applied  science  has  been 
largely  due  the  former  almost  impregnable  position  of  the  capi- 
talist class.  Does  not  the  remedy  for  present-day  evils  seem 
to  be  for  the  scientist,  the  engineer,  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
people,  simply  by  taking  a  larger  interest  in  civic  questions  and 
exercising  a  larger  influence  in  public  matters  ? 

To  consider  now  perhaps  the  most  important  matter  in 
which  this  body  is  particularly  interested,  namely,  the  Federal 
legislation  needed  to  promote  mining  on  the  public  lands,  we 
will  find  it  imperative  to  recognize  certain  ideas  that  have  won 
large  popular  support,  if  not  adoption,  by  the  majority,  especially 
as  these  ideas  have  never  been  written  into  our  archaic  mining 
laws.  Stated  plainly,  some  of  these  ideas  sound  commonplace, 
but  it  is  on  commonplaces  that  we  must  build,  if  we  are  to  have 
laws  fitted  for  everyday  use.  I  will  mention  certain  of  these 
almost  axiomatic  truths  for  two  good  reasons:  In  the  first 
place,  they  are  probably  not  accepted  by  all  who  are  connected 
with  the  mining  industry,  and  secondly,  as  I  have  just  hinted, 
these  commonplaces  of  today  have  little  or  no  expression  in  the 
statutes  under  which  the  miner  in  the  West  must  operate. 

Here  are  some  principles  to  which  no  group  of  individuals 
can  assert  a  claim  based  on  prior  discovery  or  continuous  pos- 
session; they  belong  in  fee  simple  to  that  large  body  of  Ameri- 
cans who  have  come  to  realize  that  unregulated  private  mo- 
nopoly and  good  citizenship  are  antagonistic  terms.  The  public 
possesses  greater  rights  than  any  individual  or  corporation. 
Private  enterprise  must  be  subordinated  to  the  public  good.  Big 
business  is  not  necessarily  either  vicious  or  unfriendly  to  public 
interest,  but  big  business  more  than  small  business  is  in  need 
of  a  strong  control  by  the  people.  The  day  of  big  business,  in 


PLAIN  TALK  157 

the  sense  of  unnatural  and  unrestrained  monopoly  and  special 
privilege,  is  passing.  Effective  inspection  and  intelligent  regu- 
lation of  industry  by  the  people's  representatives  will  increase. 
The  bright  light  of  publicity  should  and  will  shine  on  the  inner 
workings  of  all  private  business  which  either  touches  or  controls 
the  production  and  distribution  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and 
publicity  is  logically  the  first  step  in  regulation  by  the  people. 

All  these  propositions  must,  I  believe,  be  accepted  as  prem- 
ises in  the  formation  of  any  new  mining  statutes  whose  purpose 
is  to  provide  at  all  adequately  for  the  present  and  the  future. 
Nor  are  these  all ;  other  principles  applying  more  particularly 
to  this  legislative  problem  are  hardly  less  fundamental.  Mining 
has  become  a  business  rather  than  a  gamble.  The  Federal 
Government,  no  less  than  the  State  Governments,  is  concerned, 
not  with  restriction  or  reservation,  but  with  promotion  and  en- 
couragement of  new  mines  and  increased  mineral  output  to  the 
fullest  extent  necessary  to  meet  current  market  demands  for 
each  product.  Every  generation  has  its  own  right  to  use  natural 
resources,  but  no  generation  has  the  right  to  abuse  or  waste 
whatever  mineral  wealth  it  inherits.  Not  only  advances  in 
public  opinion,  but  also  changes  in  economic  conditions  place 
demands  upon  legislation,  and  the  mineral  land  laws  of  twenty, 
forty  or  fifty  years  ago  can  not  meet  the  requirements  of  today. 
To  illustrate:  The  coal  mined  west  of  the  Mississippi  river  in 
1873  amounted  to  less  than  two  million  tons,  and  last  year  to 
over  fifty-eight  million  tons.  The  oil  production  in  the  public 
land  states  in  1897  was  two  million  barrels  and  last  year  141 
million  barrels,  yet  1873  and  1897  are  the  dates  of  the  latest 
Federal  enactments  providing  for  the  acquisition  of  coal  and  oil 
lands,  respectively.  Here  are  some  infant  industries  that  have 
grown  up  and  deserve  laws  to  fit. 

In  order  to  serve  the  American  people,  a  term  which  includes 
capitalist  as  well  as  mine  worker,  and  consumer  as  well  as  mine 
operator,  the  new  laws  recognize  every  factor  in  the  complex  task 
of  taking  something  out  of  the  ground  and  making  it  useful.  Every 
man  who  has  a  part  in  this  undertaking,  from  prospector  to  ultimate 
consumer,  has  his  rights,  and  these  rights  must  be  recognized, 
measured  and  protected.  All  these  men  are  in  reality  partners  in 
the  enterprise.  Any  undue  advantage  allowed  to  any  one  partner 
is  pretty  sure  to  involve  unfair  treatment  of  one  or  more  of  the 


IS8  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

others.  The  prices  of  mine  products  can  not  be  regulated,  as  some 
radicals  advocate,  nor  can  either  the  industry  or  the  prices  even  be 
subjected  to  beneficial  influence,  except  as  full  consideration  is 
given  to  costs.  Increase  in  mine  safety,  decrease  in  waste  and  im- 
provement of  working  conditions,  in  part  at  least,  will  involve  in- 
crease in  operating  expenses  and  may  therefore  raise  prices.  Open 
books  and  standardized  accounting  will  soon  come  to  be  the  rule  in 
all  large  productive  operations.  The  people  will  demand  full  oppor- 
tunity to  know  all  the  elements  of  cost  in  the  coal  they  burn — 
whether  or  not  the  land  owner  and  the  operator  are  making  a  profit 
or  a  loss,  whether  the  mine  worker  gets  a  living  wage  and  what  are 
his  working  conditions,  whether  the  transportation  company  and  the 
middleman  are  receiving  their  share  or  more  than  their  share. 
The  public  doesn't  want  to  stop  or  obstruct  private  business,  but  it 
does  demand  that  fair  play  be  the  rule  of  the  game. 

To  come  now  to  the  question  of  what  is  needed  in  mineral  land 
legislation,  a  plain  statement  of  facts  will  help.  Legislative  pro- 
grams too  often  resemble  the  hotel  bill  of  fare  which  the  average 
citizen  has  to  ask  the  waiter  to  translate.  In  my  opinion,  we  want 
these  laws  for  the  coal  and  oil  and  phosphate  lands  first  of  all  for 
the  sake  of  the  citizens  who  wish  to  use  the  mineral  product  from 
these  lands.  Not  that  other  citizens  are  not  to  be  served  by  the 
new  legislation,  but  as  new  consumers  we  are  all  concerned  with 
prices,  and,  to  benefit  the  many  as  well  as  the  few,  legislation  must 
favor  low  costs.  I  should  therefore  put  down  as  the  first  essential 
of  mineral  land  legislation  that  no  provision  in  the  law  should  place 
any  unnecessary  charge,  burden  or  operating  cost  upon  the  operator. 
Accordingly,  no  royalty  should  be  imposed  with  the  primary  purpose 
of  revenue.  The  consumer  will  surely  pay  the  tax,  if  the  charge 
paid  to  the  Government  landlord  is  imposed  for  other  than  purposes 
of  administration  and  of  control  in  the  interest  of  the  consumer. 
The  most  recently  issued  waterpower  permits  provide  that  the  Fed- 
eral Government  shall  receive  a  royalty  which  varies  directly  with 
the  square  of  the  average  price  paid  by  the  public  for  the  electric 
current.  The  less  the  consumer  pays,  the  less  the  Government  land- 
lord receives. 

A  large  burden  which  the  mining  industry  now  has  to  bear  and 
which  should  be  lightened  is  that  made  up  of  the  various  risks  and 
uncertainties  that  attend  it.  In  mining  there  is  guess  work  enough 
of  Nature's  own  making  to  give  the  industry  all  the  speculative 


PLAIN  TALK  159 

flavor  it  needs.  As  I  have  pointed  out  in  a  paper  published  this 
month  by  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  any  invest- 
ment risk  increases  both  cost  and  selling  price,  and  whatever  the 
origin  of  that  risk,  the  ultimate  consumer  will  find  that  he  pays  the 
carrying  charge.  For  this  reason,  in  order  to  lower  the  cost  of  coal, 
I  favor  a  leasing  law,  rather  than  the  present  method  of  selling 
Government  coal  lands  at  an  appraised  valuation.  Any  scheme  of 
selling  an  undeveloped  resource  involves  uncertainties  in  valuation, 
and  the  risk  thus  created  is  liberally  discounted  by  the  operator — 
necessarily  and  properly,  I  may  add,  for  his  own  protection,  but  the 
public  pays  the  bill.  Even  more  important  is  the  feature  that  under 
lease  the  operator  is  relieved  from  all  the  burden  of  land  investment. 

Other  illustrations  of  uncertainties  that  can  and  should  be  cut 
out  will  occur  to  those  of  you  who  are  more  familiar  with  mining 
than  I  am.  I  may  mention,  however,  the  unnecessary  risk  that  has 
been  forced  on  the  oil  prospector  in  the  possiblity  of  having  his 
claim  jumped  by  a  more  resourceful  driller.  Absolute  protection 
during  a  proper  period  of  exploration  should  be  made  a  feature  of 
every  mining  law.  Another  unnecessary  and  very  costly  risk  has 
been  mentioned  by  H.  V.  Winchell — the  extra-lateral  right  em- 
bodied in  our  lode  law.  Mere  mention  of  the  "apex"  brings  to  mind 
litigation  that  has  wasted  the  substance  of  western  mine  owners 
like  a  plague,  many  a  long-continued  suit  being  almost  as  disastrous 
to  the  successful  litigant  as  to  his  opponent.  Even  where  lawsuits 
have  been  avoided,  fear  of  them  has  constituted  an  element  of  risk 
that  surely  found  its  place  in  the  financing  and  operating  of  a  mine 
on  a  lode  claim. 

Second  in  importance  only  to  this  matter  of  protecting  the 
mineral  producer  from  unnecessary  operating  costs  is  the  need  of 
offering  to  the  developer  of  an  unused  resource  an  inducement  com- 
mensurate with  the  hazardous  or  speculative  character  of  his  under- 
taking. This  cuts  both  ways.  To  promote  development,  mining 
laws  should  attract  the  men  having  the  knowledge  and  capital  neces- 
sary to  engage  in  the  business  of  mining,  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
mining  on  the  public  domain  should  be  set  up  like  a  public  lottery, 
with  the  same  big  prizes  for  all  comers,  whatever  the  risk  taken. 
Too  often  in  the  past  the  practice  has  been  for  the  majority  of 
locators  to  sit  by  and  watch  a  few  real  miners  test  out  the  ground, 
when,  if  a  strike  was  made,  these  hangers-on  at  once  had  valuable 
claims  to  sell.  The  "wildcatter,"  who  in  his  compliance  with  both 


160  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

spirit  and  letter  of  the  law  has  risked  his  last  cent  in  discovering 
oil,  has  received  no  more  land  from  the  Government  than  the  school 
teachers,  drygoods  clerks  and  barkeepers  whose  names  have  dec- 
orated the  paper  locations  for  miles  about.  The  present  system 
has  passed  out  too  many  large  premiums  to  those  who  didn't  even 
take  a  chance — at  least  their  stake  was  only  a  picayune  compared 
with  the  bonanza  prize.  This  means  unearned  increment  in  large 
amounts,  and  in  the  end  the  consumer  pays  for  it.  To  continue  this 
kind  of  mineral  land  lottery  is  bad  economics.  On  the  other  hand, 
however,  any  law  for  the  disposition  of  mineral  land,  whether  by 
lease  or  not,  should  provide  large  rewards  for  the  real  prospector 
and  the  wildcatter,  who  so  often  stake  their  all  against  an  uncertain 
and  secretive  Nature ;  when  they  lose  out  they  have  no  redress,  and 
when  they  win,  their  discoveries  usually  add  more  to  the  nation's 
wealth  than  to  their  own  pockets.  They  deserve  to  be  in  the  pre- 
ferred class ;  but  why  offer  the  same  rewards  to  the  taggers-on,  who 
simply  rush  in  to  grab  a  share  in  a  sure  thing? 

A  third  side  of  this  proposition  is  the  question  of  the  inalien- 
able right  of  each  citizen  to  his  share  of  the  nation's  mineral  wealth. 
This  vague  right  has  possibly  come  to  appear  more  definite  and 
substantial  in  recent  years  because  of  magazine  statistics  setting 
forth  our  per  capita  share  in  the  wondrous  wealth  represented  by 
Alaskan  coal,  but  even  writers  with  much  more  information  and 
sense  also  speak  of  the  unconditional  free  grant  of  valuable  minerals 
as  the  something-for-nothing  that  goes  with  American  citizenship. 
There  is  more  reason  in  figuring  the  citizen's  right  and  interest  in 
any  undeveloped  minerals  as  a  double  one:  First,  that  measured 
by  the  possibility  of  the  mineral  being  mined  and  thus  made  useful 
at  a  cost  to  him  that  shall  not  be  unnecessarily  high,  and  second, 
his  right  to  an  equal  chance  to  undertake  mining  within  the  limits  of 
his  own  ability.  He  has  absolutely  no  right  to  a  speculative  profit 
from  public  mineral  lands,  and  his  profit  as  a  producer  should  be 
measured  by  his  own  productive  contribution.  It  follows  that  it  is 
absurd  to  talk  about  free  or  unconditional  grants  of  mineral  land  as 
a  perquisite  of  American  citizenship.  The  privilege  should  pass 
only  on  condition  of  productive  labor.  The  real  intent  and,  in  fact, 
the  stated  purpose  of  our  mining  statutes  is  development  which 
means  use,  and  some  attempt  has  been  made  in  each  law  to  make  that 
the  condition  of  occupancy  of  mineral  land.  This  principle  seems  ab- 
solutely right,  and  new  legislation  needs  only  to  enforce  the  idea  best 


PLAIN  TALK  161 

set  forth  by  Mr.  Kirby  at  the  Tonopah  meeting  of  the  Mining  Con- 
gress— "Dig  or  get  off  the  claim."  As  I  remember  his  plain  talk 
on  the  facts,  we  do  not  need  to  blame  either  Congress  or  the  Land 
Department  for  the  paralysis  of  mining  districts,  but  only  look 
around  the  camp  and  see  the  idle  claims  whose  owners  are  waiting 
for  something  to  turn  up  and  somebody  else  to  turn  it  up.  The  law 
needs  to  offer  opportunity  only  to  the  mineral  entryman  who  uses 
that  opportunity.  Equal  opportunity  is  more  theoretical  than  prac- 
tical with  men  who  are  unequal  in  capacity  and  purpose.  The  use 
the  citizen  is  to  make  of  the  land  should  be  the  measure  of  his  right 
and  privilege. 

In  the  matter  of  acreages,  the  various  mineral  land  laws 
present  some  curious  features.  The  lawmaker  appears  to  have 
harked  back  to  the  homestead  idea,  but  it  takes  little  experience 
to  show  that  160  acres,  which  will  provide  a  home  on  the  land, 
counts  for  little,  for  instance,  in  the  opening  of  a  coal  mine  that 
will  have  a  half-million  ton  annual  output  and  involve  a  half- 
million  dollar  investment.  These  legal  obstacles  naturally  re- 
sulted in  the  creation  of  a  class  of  dummy  entrymen  and  specu- 
lative middlemen,  who  grabbed  Government  land  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  it  to  the  bona-fide  coal  operators.  Experience  shows 
that  it  is  a  purposeless  and  bad  enonomic  policy  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  dispose  of  such  mineral  lands  in  small  parcels,  simply  to 
give  everyone  his  chance.  Let  the  particular  use  to  which  the 
land  is  to  be  put  determine  the  appropriate  acreage,  and  give  the 
man  who  is  to  put  the  land  to  that  use  the  chance  to  deal  directly 
with  the  Federal  owner,  and  not  force  him  to  pay  an  idle  middle- 
man's profit. 

With  these  purposes  in  mind,  and  with  due  regard  for 
changed  conditions,  both  in  the  mining  industry  and  in  public 
opinion,  how  can  Federal  legislation  meet  the  nation's  need?  As 
a  summary  I  can  do  no  better  than  express  my  conception  of  the 
main  essentials  of  a  new  mining  code,  following  in  general  the 
analysis  of  the  whole  problem  recently  outlined  by  the  special 
committee  of  the  Mining  and  Metallurgical  Society  of  America : 

First :  Land-classification  is  the  duty  of  the  landlord,  private 
or  Federal,  as  a  preliminary  to  the  disposition  of  any  or  all  of  the 
natural  resources  the  land  contains.  Separation  of  surface  and 
mineral  rights  follows  as  the  logical  result  of  classification, 


162  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

wherever  there  is  any  reason  to  consider  that  there  may  be  more 
than  one  estate  in  the  land. 

Second :  While  the  title  to  the  surface  of  lands  suitable  for 
agricultural  use  should  be  granted  in  fee,  thus  continuing  the 
wise  policy  of  encouraging  home-making,  public  interest  and  the 
need  of  protecting  the  consumer  against  private  monopoly  are 
believed  to  justify  the  retention  in  the  Government  of  such  sur- 
face resources  as  timber  and  water-power,  because  their  cheapest 
and  fullest  use  is  best  secured  by  operation  in  large  units.  Even 
more  important  is  the  reservation  by  the  Government,  at  the  time 
that  the  surface  patent  is  granted,  of  all  mineral  wealth  beneath 
the  surface  for  separate  disposition,  under  mineral-land  laws.  In 
private  transfers  of  land  the  reservation  of  mineral  rights  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  the  common  practice. 

Third:  The  possessory  title  to  the  mineral  should  be  retained 
in  the  Government,  not  for  the  purpose  of  asserting  any  theory 
of  "sovereign  patrimony"  or  "regalian  right,"  but  simply  as  a 
practical  method  of  assuring  development  under  the  best  condi- 
tions. Let  us  regard  the  Federal  Government  as  a  trustee  rather 
than  as  a  sovereign  landlord,  and  the  idea  and  purpose  of  pro- 
prietorship by  the  people  become  more  easily  understood. 

The  application  of  the  lease  idea  to  the  mining  of  precious 
metals,  while  logical  in  certain  respects,  is  not  at  all  of  com- 
parable importance  with  its  application  to  what  have  been 
termed  "public  utility"  mineral  resources,  such  as  coal,  petro- 
leum, phosphate  and  potash.  The  utilization  of  this  class  of 
resources  is  of  prime  importance,  and  questions  relating  to  their 
disposition  have  a  practical  rather  than  an  academic  interest. 

Leasehold  has  the  advantage  over  permanent  alienation  in 
that  it  allows  the  Government  to  exercise  continued  control  in 
the  public  interest.  Such  control  is  essential  in  order  to  promote 
use  and  discourage  speculative  non-use,  to  prevent  control  of 
large  land  holdings  by  powerful  corporations  for  such  monopoli- 
zation as  works  to  the  detriment  of  the  consumer,  and  also  to 
permit  and  even  to  promote  consolidation  of  holdings  and  cen- 
tralization of  operation  where  large  units  are  favorable  to  the 
public  interest. 

To  work  out  control  of  this  type,  the  mining  law  should 
provide  for  prospecting  permits  that  will  give  exclusive  occu- 


PLAIN  TALK  163 

pancy  during  short  periods — long  enough,  however,  for  full 
exploration — under  terms  and  conditions  whose  sole  purpose 
should  be  to  insure  that  only  bona-fide  prospectors  will  enter 
the  land  and  that  they  will  do  purposeful  work.  The  annual 
assessment  farce  has  had  a  long  enough  run.  The  prospecting 
permit  will  ripen  into  a  lease  whenever  the  results  of  explora- 
tion justify  the  operation  of  the  property  on  a  producing  basis. 
Where  the  proof  of  coal  or  oil  or  other  mineral  substance  in 
minable  quantity  is  a  discovery  of  the  type  termed  "wild-cat" 
in  the  case  of  oil,  the  prospector  rendering  such  service  to  the 
industry  and  to  the  public  should  receive  his  lease  upon  purely 
nominal  terms. 

No  bonus  or  rent  should  be  exacted  from  the  lessee,  except 
possible  rent  during  any  period  of  temporary  cessation  of  pro- 
duction, and  that  simply  as  a  means  of  discouraging  non-use. 
The  royalty  on  the  product,  whether  figured  on  quantity  or 
value  of  output  or  on  net  returns,  should  be  no  higher  than  is 
necessitated  by  royalties  or  other  charges  prevailing  for  similar 
products  under  private  leases  in  the  same  locality.  Wherever 
the  price  to  the  consumer  could  be  directly  affected  by  the 
royalty  to  the  people's  trustee,  the  royalty  should  be  lowered 
to  a  nominal  figure. 

The  essential  features  of  the  lease  should  be  conditions 
enforcing  full  and  continuous  use,  economy  and  safety  of 
operation,  and  control  of  occupancy.  Transfers  should  not  be 
prohibited,  but  simply  made  subject  to  approval  by  the  people's 
representative.  If  in  any  region  large  units  of  production  are 
seen  to  favor  lower  costs  and  a  longer  lived  industry,  all  for  the 
public  good,  consolidation  of  holdings  should  be  encouraged 
and  transfers  of  leases  permitted;  but  if  the  purpose  of  large 
holdings  is  monopolization  in  order  to  curtail  production  and 
raise  prices,  transfers  to  that  end  should  be  denied  the  executive 
approval  necessary  to  make  them  effective. 

As  I  look  ahead,  and  not  so  far  ahead,  either,  I  believe  I  see 
the  following  propositions  stand  out  plainly  in  the  future  status 
of  mining  on  the  public  lands: 

The  mining  men,  like  the  rest  of  the  people,  will  see  that 
this  big  productive  business  belongs  in  the  public-service  class. 


164  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Because  its  products  are  so  largely  necessaries  of  life,  the 
mining  industry  will  be  regulated  by  the  people. 

The  control  of  public  mineral  lands  will  be  exercised  largely 
through  a  leasing  system,  simply  because  in  this  way  the  public 
owner  and  private  operator  can  best  co-operate,  and  the  purpose 
of  this  sympathetic  co-operation  will  be  to  lower  costs  of  pro- 
duction in  order  to  permit  reasonable  prices  to  the  consumer, 
and  at  the  same  time  provide  fair  wages  to  the  mine  worker  and 
adequate  profits  to  the  capitalist  and  operator.  That  will  be 
public  control,  but  not  Socialism. 


Conservation  from  the  Western  Standpoint. 

JOHN   F.   SHAFROTH, 
SENATOR  FROM  COLORADO. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Mining  Congress: 
I  feel  very  much  gratified  to  come  here.  I  did  not  understand 
my  subject  to  be  as  the  Chairman  announced,  but  still  it  is  kindred 
to  that.  I  expected  to  talk  on  conservation  from  the  Western 
standpoint,  but  inasmuch  as  this  is  similar  to  the  subject  announced 
I  will  proceed  somewhat  in  the  line  of  the  skeleton  notes  I  have 
written. 

Gentlemen,  everybody  believes  in  conservation,  if  we  mean 
by  that  elimination  of  waste.  No  one,  I  care  not  whether  he  is  a 
Western  man  or  an  Eastern  man,  believes  in  the  waste  of  our  re- 
sources. If  the  people  in  the  United  States  would  confine  them- 
selves to  the  execution  of  their  doctrine  from  that  standpoint,  no 
one  would  have  any  objection  whatever,  but  there  has  been  growing 
up  a  sentiment  giving  a  different  meaning  to  the  word  conservation 
than  that  which  I  have  stated.  It  has  partaken  of  the  nature  of  a 
propaganda  in  favor  of  leasing  the  various  lands  of  the  United 
States,  grazing  lands,  mineral  lands,  coal  lands,  asphalt  lands  and 
all  others  that  are  supposed  to  contain  valuable  products,  and  this 
policy  makes  a  burden  upon  the  West  which  we  do  not  think  is 
fair,  and  which  we  do  think  the  Eastern  people,  if  they  understood 
the  question,  would  countenance. 

When  we  started  out  on  that  policy  of  conservation  it  contem- 
plated the  setting  aside  of  various  timber  lands  at  the  head  waters 
of  our  mountain  streams  solely  for  a  local  purpose,  namely,  to  con- 
serve the  snow  in  the  mountains  from  melting  until  midsummer, 
when  the  waters  in  the  valleys  below  would  be  most  needed.  You 
know  in  all  that  western  country  we  have  irrigation,  and  it  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  have  a  flow  of  water  in  summer.  That  was  the 
reason  the  first  enactments  of  Congress  were  made,  not  to  conserve 
the  timber,  but  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  snows  and  thereby 
making  more  abundant  water  with  which  to  irrigate  our  lands. 


166  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  Representatives  and  Senators  from  the  West  believed 
firmly  in  the  proposition  to  set  aside  reserves  for  that  purpose,  but 
in  the  giving  of  that  power  to  the  President  they  did  not  limit  it. 
Soon  there  began  to  be  created  large  reservations,  which  not  only 
took  in  the  head  waters  of  the  streams,  but  embraced  almost  all  the 
large  sections  of  our  contiguous  public  lands. 

In  my  State  there  has  been  fifteen  million  acres  of  land  set 
aside  as  timber  reserves.  Now,  that  is  an  area  equal  to  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  Rhode  Island  and  Vermont  combined.  You 
would  think  that  in  one  western  State,  that  was  a  pretty  large  plot 
of  land  to  set  aside  for  any  purpose,  but  we  find  further  that  this 
land  which  was  designated  for  forests  was  unsuited  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

You  know  we  have  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  what  is 
called  the  timber  line,  which  means  that  Nature  has  decreed  that  no 
timber  can  grow  above  that  line,  and  yet  forty  per  cent,  of  these 
preserves  in  my  State  are  above  timber  line.  It  is  in  these  sections 
that  the  most  valuable  mines  of  our  State  are  located. 

There  is  another  zone  between  the  timber  line  and  good  timber, 
where  there  grows  scrub  timber  which  is  not  good  for  forest  pur- 
poses. Yet  30  per  cent,  of  those  areas  that  are  set  aside  in  the 
State  of  Colorado  contain  this  scrub  timber.  Thus  we  find  that 
only  30  per  cent,  of  the  areas  that  are  set  aside  as  forest  reserves 
can  have  any  relation  whatever  to  forestry.  If  they  talk  about  re- 
claiming these  forests  you  will  find  that  it  will  be  an  absolute  im- 
possibility, even  in  the  lower  lands.  We  have  the  authority  of  the 
Agricultural  Department  of  the  United  States  to  the  effect  that  it 
takes  200  years  to  grow  a  tree  19  6/10  inches  in  diameter  in  my 
State  at  an  altitude  of  7,500  feet  above  sea  level. 

Now  these  are  the  conditions  that  exist  in  my  State  and  I 
have  no  doubt  they  exist  in  every  other  State  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain region.  We  simply  say:  "We  would  like  you  to  take  your 
hands  off  so  far  as  attempting  to  make  our  forest  preserves  your 
concern."  I  have  no  objection  to  the  Government  selling  these 
lands  and  selling  them  for  what  they  can  get.  If  these  lands  are 
worth  money  let  the  officials  dispose  of  them,  but  it  cannot  be  that 
they  can  lock  up  our  resources  and  prevent  that  development  which 
occurred  in  the  western  States  previous  to  the  adoption  of  this 
policy. 


CONSERVATION  FROM  WESTERN  STANDPOINT.        167 

I  cannot  agree  with  the  gentlemen  who  has  just  taken  his 
seat  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Government  in  leasing  any  lands,  and 
there  is  one  thing  that  he  does  not  refer  to  and  which  he  overlooks 
entirely. 

I  happened  to  have  been  Governor  of  my  State  at  one  time 
and  did  not  know  why  the  State  revenues  were  so  small  until  I  began 
to  look  into  this  very  question  of  the  conservation  policy  of  the 
Government.  I  found  we  were  not  getting  much  revenue  and  I 
began  to  inquire  closely,  and  I  found  in  one  county  nine-tenths  of 
the  area  was  in  reservation. 

When  the  Government  of  the  United  States  creates  a  State  it 
passes  an  Enabling  Act,  in  which  it  is  specified  that  no  land  of  the 
United  States  is  subject  to  taxation.  I  simply  saw  in  this  county 
that  nine-tenths  of  the  land  was  public  domain  and  could  not  be 
subjected  to  taxation,  which  made  one-tenth  of  the  property  of  the 
county  bear  the  burden  that  should  have  been  paid  by  all. 

I  want  to  show  you  a  map  of  the  State  of  Colorado.  The 
dark  blots  that  are  upon  it,  are  the  Government  reservations  con- 
taining 15,000,000  acres,  from  which  we  cannot  get  one  dollar  of 
revenue  for  State,  county  or  school  taxes. 

We  find  that  this  Government  has  set  aside  9,425,000  acres 
of  coal  land  in  the  State  of  Colorado,  and  we  find  the  officials  have 
placed  enormous  values  upon  it,  in  some  instances  as  high  as  $400 
an  acre,  and  that  hardly  any  land  whatever  is  being  taken  up.  Nine 
million,  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  acres  of  coal  land, 
valued  at  between  a  half  billion  and  a  billion  dollars,  are  conse- 
quently not  subject  to  taxation. 

What  do  you  think  of  a  little  State,  such  as  ours,  with  prop- 
erty valued  at  a  half  to  a  billion  dollars,  exempt  from  taxation? 
Suppose  an  individual  had  such  an  exemption — there  would  be  a 
revolution.  Yet,  my  friends,  that  is  exactly  the  condition  that 
-exists  out  there  by  reason  of  these  reservations. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  when  people  understand  this  subject  they 
will  have  a  different  view  of  the  question  of  conservation — conser- 
vation not  from  the  standpoint  of  locking  up  our  resources,  but  from 
the  standpoint  of  benefit,  both  to  the  United  States  and  the  States. 

You  must  remember  that  all  of  this  land  was  obtained  by  the 
•Government  not  for  the  purpose  of  making  money  out  of  it.  It  never 


i68  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

has  been  the  policy  to  do  that.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  so  arrange  its  land  laws  as  to  produce  settlement  and  de- 
velopment, and  thereby  to  build  up  a  citizenship  which  would  be  the 
bulwarks  of  the  nation  in  times  of  war,  and  the  revenue  producers 
in  times  of  peace.  We  saw  this  land  had  been  here  for  six  thousand 
years,  and  it  was  not  worth  anything  until  the  pioneers  developed 
the  same. 

Do  you  remember  what  Daniel  Webster  said  about  this  western 
country?  I  will  just  read  you  an  extract  from  a  speech  made  by 
him  relative  to  these  lands.  He  said : 

''What  do  we  want  of  that  vast  and  worthless  area,  that  region 
of  savages  and  wild  beasts,  of  deserts,  shifting  sands,  whirling 
winds,  cactus  and  prairie  dogs?  To  what  use  could  we  ever  hope 
tc  put  those  great  deserts  and  mountain  ranges  covered  from  their 
very  bases  with  eternal  snows  ?  What  could  we  ever  do  with  3,000 
miles  of  rock-bound,  treeless,  uninviting  lands  of  the  United  States 
which  have  cost  the  Government  four  and  seven-tenths  cents  per 
acre  in  its  acquisition?" 

There  never  was  a  policy  suggested  of  making  money  out  of 
these  lands  until  this  so-called  conservation  policy  was  advocated. 

Even  if  you  live  in  Philadelphia,  you  have  a  right  to  send  any- 
body out  to  Colorado  to-morrow  with  instructions  to  locate  a  min- 
ing claim  for  you — locate  a  claim  containing  gold,  silver,  lead  or 
iron,  and  you  need  not  go  near  it,  and  thus  you  have  a  right  to  an 
interest  in  that  property.  The  requirement  of  the  law  is  that  you 
shall  do  a  certain  amount  of  work  upon  each  mining  claim,  and  I 
agree  with  Mr.  Smith  in  his  statement  that  there  ought  to  be  work 
performed  upon  these  properties.  The  law  requires  that  you  shall 
do  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  work  on  each  claim  per  year. 
Other  statutes  require  residence  upon  other  locations.  Homestead 
laws  require  residence.  Others  require  the  locator  to  remain  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time  upon  the  land,  but  every  citizen  of  the  United 
States  has  an  interest  in  this  land  to  the  extent  that  it  is  given  to  him 
to  take  advantage  of,  if  desired. 

Now  these  States  were  taken  into  the  Union  after  a  set  policy 
was  fixed  by  the  United  States  Government.  This  was  not  new. 
The  great  middle  West  had  been  developed,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Missouri  and  Kansas  had  become  great  and  powerful  States,  adding 
millions  of  dollars  each  year  to  the  revenues  of  the  Government. 


CONSERVATION   FROM   WESTERN    STANDPOINT  169 

Under  this  policy  the  Government  could  not  attempt  to  prevent  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  those  States ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
citizens  thereof  had  the  entire  benefit  of  the  natural  resources  of 
those  middle  west  States. 

That  was  the  policy.  Why,  even  you  people  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  got  lands  for  nothing.  You  will  find  in  New  England  there 
wasn't  a  penny  given,  and  when  the  settlers  came  to  Ohio  and 
Indiana  the  Homestead  rights  prevailed,  and  if  a  man  lived  on  the 
land  for  five  years,  he  obtained  title  to  it.  There  were  some  laws 
which  governed  a  certain  minimum  rate  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  for 
the  taking  up  of  lands  under  the  pre-emption  claim.  That  was  the 
policy  under  which  this  whole  western  country  between  the  Alle- 
ghenies  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  developed.  And  then  came 
in  this  vast  territory  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  regions,  which  is  now 
the  subject  of  restriction  upon  the  part  of  the  Government.  We 
find  that  that  policy  apparently  was  settled.  You  cannot  find  in  the 
old  laws  anything  with  relation  to  perpetual  ownership  on  the  part 
of  the  Government.  Nobody  had  suggested  perpetual  ownership. 
It  was  to  be  free  from  taxation  until  disposed  of.  Disposition  of 
the  public  land  was  recognized,  and  the  Government  was  holding  it 
in  trust  for  the  people,  so  that  when  the  people  did  take  it  and 
commence  development,  there  should  be  passage  of  title  by  the 
United  States  for  those  lands. 

We  find  under  these  Enabling  Acts,  which  Congress  passed, 
it  has  used  the  identical  language  in  every  instance  with  relation 
to  the  rights  of  the  State.  It  was  never  intended  that  one  State 
should  have  a  greater  right  than  another.  This  language,  contained 
in  every  Enabling  Act,  is  that  when  the  State  is  formed  "it  shall  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States  in  all  respects  whatsoever." 

Tell  me,  is  it  right  to  give  to  the  people  of  the  East,  the  people 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Kansas,  the  full  rights  of 
their  own  public  natural  resources,  and  yet,  when  it  comes  to  the 
most  favored  section  of  this  country,  the  section  which  is  called  the 
Great  American  Desert,  the  "rock-bound,  treeless,  snow-clad"  por- 
tion, as  Daniel  Webster  has  defined  it,  the  United  States  will  say, 
"No,  we  do  not  propose  to  let  you  have  the  natural  resources  of  your 
States,  although  we  have  given  them  to  the  more  favored  States?" 

Now,  we  find  that  if  the  United  States  wants  to  assume  juris- 
diction of  the  reserved  lands;  if  it  wants  to  put  itself  on  a  level 


170  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

with  the  citizens  that  have  given  value  to  this  billion  or  half  billion 
dollars'  worth  of  coal  mines  and  pay  cost  of  maintenance  of  local 
government  within  the  reserved  areas,  then  that  will  be  only  a  fair 
arrangement,  but  we  insist  by  reason  of  the  clause,  which  is  con- 
tained in  the  contract  with  the  State  when  the  rights  of  the  State 
were  fully  determined  at  the  time  those  contracts  were  made,  it  is 
unfair  for  the  Federal  Government  to  say:  "Now,  we  will  exempt 
all  this  land  from  taxation,  compelling  you  to  maintain  a  republican 
form  of  government  and  an  educational  system  over  the  same  and 
at  the  same  time,  we  will  not  contribute."  That  is  not  fair,  it  is  not 
right,  and  any  person  who  understands  it  ought  to  recognize  it. 

There  are  some  other  phases  of  this  question  with  relation  to 
our  State  of  Colorado  to  which  I  want  to  call  your  attention.  We 
are  situated  in  the  interior,  about  1,800  miles  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  Half  of  the  State  is  mountainous.  We  are  about  1,000 
or  1,200  miles  from  the  Pacific  coast.  No  matter  what  trouble 
might  come,  if  we  were  to  get  into  a  war  with  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  not  a  single  soldier  of  all  those  forces  could  ever  set  foot  on 
the  soil  of  Colorado.  Far  into  the  interior  the  invading  armies 
could  not  march  or  conquer  the  people,  so  you  can  readily  see  our 
interest  in  maintaining  a  navy  is  not  a  selfish  interest. 

We  need  no  protection  of  the  United  States  Government 
against  the  armies  of  all  Europe,  or  of  all  the  world,  and  yet  our 
Legislators  and  our  Senators,  for  years  and  years,  have  been  advo- 
cating continually  large  appropriations  for  the  navy. 

We  have  no  harbors,  not  even  a  single  river  in  our  State  that 
could  float  even  a  flat  bottom  boat,  and  yet  we  have  contributed 
every  year  through  our  Representatives  in  Congress  toward  the 
development  of  the  harbors  in  this  country.  The  Sixty-first  Con- 
gress appropriated  $88,000,000  for  that  purpose.  Yet  you  have 
heard  no  objection  on  that  account  from  the  Colorado  people. 

We  know  there  rests  upon  us  a  certain  obligation  to  be  ren- 
dered the  Government  which  we  should  discharge  by  the  levying  of 
taxes.  Colorado  contributes  every  year  to  the  national  treasury 
$5,000,000  in  import  and  internal  revenue  duties.  This  obligation 
we  cheerfully  discharge,  but  in  the  face  of  all  the  facts  we  find  that 
to  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  alone  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union 
the  Federal  Government  attempts  to  say:  "You  shall  not  have  the 
resources  which  we  have  given  to  all  of  the  people  in  the  other 
States,"  and  bear  in  mind,  we  are  less  favored  than  any  of  those 


CONSERVATION   FROM   WESTERN   STANDPOINT  171 

older  States.  Under  such  a  policy  the  Government  is  going  to  hold 
these  lands  in  perpetuity,  something  never  before  attempted,  be- 
cause these  lands  were  acquired  in  trust  for  the  people. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  Federal  Government  shall  collect  from 
the  State  of  Colorado  a  lease  rental  or  royalty  of  10  cents  per  ton 
upon  all  coal  mined  from  the  reserved  areas.  Let  us  see  what  that 
would  mean. 

The  Geological  Survey  has  estimated  the  coal  measures  in 
Colorado  to  aggregate  371  billions  of  tons.  The  world's  consump- 
tion of  coal  to-day  is  one  billion  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
tons  pe:  year,  so  that  Colorado  has  enough  coal  within  its  borders 
to  supply  the  world  for  more  than  three  hundred  years.  Out  of 
these  371  billions  of  tons,  more  than  325  billions  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  Government.  If  we  are  to  pay  10  cents  per  ton  it  means  the 
State  of  Colorado  will  ultimately  contribute  to  the  national  treas* 
ury  $32,500,000,000.  More  than  ten  times  the  total  debt  of  the 
Government  at  the  close  of  the  greatest  war  that  ever  occurred  in 
our  history. 

That  is  what  Colorado  would  have  to  contribute  if  this  little 
10  cents  per  ton  was  imposed  on  the  people  of  that  State.  That 
is  not  the  worst  feature  of  it,  for  whenever  a  tax  is  imposed  upon  a 
natural  resource,  it  means  the  people  have  to  pay  for  it.  It  means  it 
will  not  be  in  the  exact  amount  of  royalty  imposed,  but  it  will  prob- 
ably be  three,  four,  five  or  six  times  as  great,  because  when  these 
mines  are  developed  by  corporations,  they  are  not  going  to  be  sat- 
isfied by  getting  back  the  amounts  they  pay  to  the  Government,  they 
must  have  their  profits,  and  ultimately  the  people  of  the  State  will 
have  to  pay  a  larger  amount  than  the  royalty. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  water  power  problem.  Out  there 
water  falls  from  such  heights  that  a  wonderful  amount  of  power 
can  be  generated.  We  can  take  the  Grand  River,  our  largest  stream, 
and  for  every  five  miles  we  can  develop  power.  We  have  one 
plant  at  Shoshone,  Colorado,  upon  which  a  company  has  spent  six 
or  eight  million  dollars  in  generating  some  20,000  horsepower.  After 
they  had  constructed  their  plant  and  had  it  in  operation,  the  Govern- 
ment served  notice  upon  them  that  they  must  get  off.  That  was  a 
nice  proposition  for  the  Government  to  serve  upon  men  who  had 
spent  six  or  eight  million  dollars  to  develop  a  natural  resource  that 
had  been  going  to  waste  since  time  began.  The  bureau  has  been 
trying  to  force  the  execution  of  a  contract  to  compel  payment  of 


I72  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

royalties  of  one  dollar  per  horsepower,  graded  by  small  amounts  at 
first,  and  going  up  in  ten  years  to  a  dollar  per  horsepower.  The 
laws  of  the  United  States  at  that  time  permitted  any  corporation  to 
file  a  plat  of  their  line  on  the  public  domain.  The  mere  filing  of  it 
should  constitute  the  rights  of  the  parties  to  that  right  of  way.  The 
Government  gave  that  right  in  order  to  have  the  country  developed, 
but  when  Mr.  Pinchot  came  into  power  he  got  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  then  Mr.  Garfield,  to  revoke  the  grants  to  forty  of  these 
power  plants,  some  of  which  were  developed,  others  in  partial  con- 
struction, and  others  just  beginning.  That  very  plant  upon  which 
notice  was  served,  at  Glenwood  Springs,  or  Shoshone,  was  the 
plant  that  was  already  in  operation  to  furnish  power  to  the  city  of 
Denver,  a  distance  of  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The  matter 
has  been  in  court  ever  since,  but  there  has  been  no  final  determina- 
tion of  it. 

Now  the  assumption  of  the  conservationists  was  that  the 
United  States  owns  the  waters,  but  when  they  appeared  before  the 
committees  in  the  House  and  Senate  they  were  shown  a  Supreme 
Court  decision  to  the  effect  that  the  States  owned  the  waters. 
That  checked  their  plans  for  a  time,  but  they  declared  their  con- 
servation policy  must  go  on  and  a  way  must  be  found  by  which  con- 
trol of  the  water  and  the  horsepower  that  is  generated  therefrom 
held  in  their  hands,  so  they  began  to  scheme  and  finally  advanced 
the  proposition  that  the  Federal  Government  owns  the  land  where 
the  power  plant  is  to  be  located.  Now  they  try  to  make  a  company, 
before  it  can  use  any  plant  on  the  public  domain,  deed  or  convey 
the  Government  a  right  to  a  certain  amount  of  the  horsepower  it 
generates. 

That  is  doing  indirectly  what  could  not  be  done  directly.  These 
waters  belong  to  the  State  and  the  State  has  the  right  to  use  them. 
To  permit  a  hold-up  of  the  State  under  a  provision  of  that  kind  is 
to  deny  the  very  indicta  of  sovereignty  of  the  State.  The  State 
should  have  the  same  right  as  the  nation  to  condemn  anything  in 
order  to  have  a  public  work.  The  State  should  have  the  same  right 
as  the  nation  to  condemn  any  piece  of  property  owned  by  the  United 
States  that  is  not  used  for  Governmental  purposes. 

We  find  that  this  horsepower,  generated  entirely  from  water 
fall,  is  just  waiting  for  development.  The  Colorado  State  Engineer 
told  me  that  if  we  had  the  right  to  develop  that  water  power  under 
the  laws  that  existed  fifteen  years  ago,  there  would  be  investments 


CONSERVATION  FROM  WESTERN  STANDPOINT         173 

in  that  line  of  more  than  one  hundred  million  dollars  in  the  State 
of  Colorado  in  the  next  three  years.  But  the  gentlemen  at  Wash- 
ington say  that  they  can  do  for  the  West  better  than  the  West  can 
do  for  itself. 

How  is  Congress  so  sure  it  can  handle  the  problem  so  much 
better  than  the  States  themselves?  We  have  had  some  experience 
with  Congress  in  this  regard.  You  will  remember  that  Congress 
gave  away  forty-three  land  grants  to  railroads,  to  the  extent  of 
155,000,000  acres,  an  area  equal  to  the  whole  of  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland  and  Ohio  combined. 
That  is  what  Congress  did,  and  yet  it  is  thought  a  wise  thing  to 
put  all  the  development  of  this  Western  country  into  the  hands 
of  the  Government  in  order  that  a  State  should  not  encourage 
monopoly. 

Every  corporation  that  files  upon  a  water  power  plant  there, 
becomes  a  public  carrier  and  is  subject  to  the  legislation  of  the  State 
just  the  same  as  the  railroads.  If  the  rate  is  too  high  the  State  can 
come  in  and  say :  "This  is  unreasonable  and  we  will  fix  a  less  charge 
for  it." 

Here  are  water  powers  that  have  been  going  to  waste  for  cen- 
turies, lying  there  now  undeveloped.  There  is— not  a  single  water 
power  plant  being  constructed  in  the  State  of  Colorado  at  this  time, 
because  the  Government  policy  has  been  to  charge  a  royalty. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  what  the  people  of  a  State  are 
much  more  careful  of  the  rights  of  the  State  and  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  the  State  than  the  National  Government. 

Legislators  sometimes  are  corrupt,  sometimes  controlled  by 
corporations,  but  not  any  more  than  the  big  bodies  in  Washington 
have  been  in  the  past,  and  we  cannot  assume  that  they  are  going  to 
be  more  subject  to  the  influence  of  corporations  than  Congress 
would  be.  Not  only  that,  but  in  our  State,  under  the  initiative  and 
referendum,  if  the  Legislature  does  not  pass  the  correct  law,  the 
people  have  the  right  to  pass  it  and  to  review  all  acts  of  their  rep- 
resentatives. While  corporations  may  have  influence  over  a  Legis- 
lature, they  will  not  have  influence  over  the  entire  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  so  these  Western  States  that  have  these  laws  have  a  better 
opportunity  to  curb  the  monopolistic  tendencies  of  corporations 
than  has  the  National  Government. 


I74  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Now,  then,  I  feel  that  Washington  has  got  no  right  to  control 
Colorado.  They  do  not  know  our  conditions.  They  do  not  know 
our  needs,  they  do  not  know  our  necessities,  and,  consequently,  we 
naturally  feel  that  when  there  is  something  to  be  done  in  Washing- 
ton, eighteen  hundred  miles  away,  they  are  not  informed  as  to  the 
situation  as  we  understand  it,  and  you  are  going  to  find,  gentlemen, 
that  this  same  tendency  to  control  land,  to  control  water  powers,  to 
control  gold  mines,  to  control  silver  mines,  to  control  copper  mines, 
to  control  zinc  mines,  and  to  control  lead  mines,  is  objectionable. 
We  propose  to  have  a  say  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  as  to 
whether  this  iniquitous  policy  shall  be  fastened  upon  us. 

My  friends,  a  great  justice  of  the  United  States  once  delivered 
a  speech  and  I  want  to  read  to  you  what  he  said  as  to  the  relation 
between  the  State  and  the  people.  These  are  the  words  of  Justice 
John  M.  Harlan,  one  of  the  great  men  of  his  time: 

"National  government  for  national  affairs  and  State  govern- 
ment for  State  affairs  is  the  foundation  rock  upon  which  our  insti: 
tutions  rest.  Any  serious  departure  from  that  principle  would 
bring  disaster  upon  the  American  system  of  free  government." 


Needed  Changes  in  Our  Mineral  Land  Laws. 

THOMAS   J.    WALSH, 
SENATOR  FROM   MONTANA. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Mining  Congress: 

It  was  my  purpose  to  attend  this  Congress  to  discuss  with  you 
needed  changes  in  our  general  land  laws,  but  the  duties  of  the  cur- 
rent session  bore  so  heavily  upon  me  I  found  it  impossible  to  make 
the  preparation  for  the  presentation  of  the  subject  in  a  way  that 
would  enlighten  those  who  attend  meetings  of  this  kind. 

Our  code  of  mineral  laws  was  framed  more  than  a  generation 
ago.  It  would  have  required  an  acquaintance  with  the  subject  with 
which  they  dealt,  a  more  profound  and  far-seeing  statesmanship 
than  its  authors  confessedly  had,  to  have  devised  a  system  which 
would  not  be  found  wanting  in  some  respects  after  a  lapse  of  so 
many  years. 

It  is  a  high  tribute  to  the  sagacity  and  ability  of  the  great 
men  who  devised  that  code  that  it  has  worked  as  well  as  it  has, 
and  that  the  basic  principles  upon  which  it  was  built  are  still  recog- 
nized as  being  essentially  sound. 

With  respect  to  the  lands  containing  coal  the  system  admittedly 
has  broken  down,  and  with  reference  to  oil,  gas,  phosphates  and 
other  natural  resources  of  a  similar  character,  it  is  no  discredit  to 
the  great  men  who  devised  the  prevailing  system  that  it  has  proved  a 
failure,  as  they  scarcely  contemplated  the  necessity  of  legislation 
touching  lands  containing  such  minerals. 

In  the  essential  features  the  provisions  of  the  law  in  relation 
to  lands  containing  metalliferous  ores  have  fully  justified  them- 
selves. Although  the  wisdom  of  them  is  an  open  question,  the  sys- 
tem will  work  out  all  right.  It  remains  a  powerful  inducement  to 
the  exploration  and  development  of  the  public  lands  containing  gold, 
silver,  copper  and  other  metals,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  it  always 
has  been. 


i76  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  chief  criticism  made  in  respect  to  this  branch  of  the  law 
is  that  it  breeds  litigation.  It  becomes  frequently  an  exceedingly 
troublesome,  oftentimes  perplexing,  difficulty  to  determine  to  which 
claim  particular  ore  bodies  belong  and  such  an  uncertainty,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  tends  to  retard  the  development  of  the  land.  This 
evil  is  not  a  crying  one,  however  much  may  be  said  in  support  of  the 
extra-lateral  right.  As  the  present  system  has  operated  very  suc- 
cessfully for  a  great  many  years,  there  is  no  immediate  necessity 
for  revision  in  that  branch  of  the  mining  code. 

The  law  has,  however,  unquestionably  entirely  broken  down  so 
far  as  the  coal  lands  are  concerned.  It  is  not  possible,  practically 
speaking,  to  appropriate  coal  land  under  the  present  law.  It  allows 
an  appropriation  of  only  320  acres  by  an  association,  and  through- 
out the  West,  where  there  are  any  coal  lands,  an  area  of  that  extent 
is  too  small  to  induce  development.  In  order  to  compete  in  the 
markets,  even  in  the  West,  an  investment  of  $200,000  or  $300,000 
is  requisite  for  opening  the  mine  and  in  the  construction  of  proper 
works  for  handling  the  coal,  and  transporting  it.  An  investment  of 
that  amount  of  money  is  scarcely  justifiable  in  connection  with  coal 
land  no  greater  in  area  than  320  acres,  unless  it  be  unusually  rich. 

This  condition  prompted  the  making  of  entries  really  for  the 
benefit  of  a  corporation  intending  to  operate  a  considerable  tract 
of  land  when  the  title  to  same  should  be  acquired,  a  practice  for 
years  tacitly  approved  or  acquiesced  in.  It  was  always,  I  imagine, 
recognized  by  lawyers  to  be  contrary  to  the  law  and  is  now  held  to 
be  criminal.  It  becomes  necessary,  accordingly,  to  revise  the  coal 
land  laws,  and  that  should  be  done,  and  done  without  any  delay 
whatever. 

Public  attention  has  been  directed  for  a  great  many  years  to 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Alaska,  and  it  is  not  at  all  unjust  or 
unfair  to  say  that  that  condition  constitutes  a  reproach  to  the 
United  States  and  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  disclosed  in  a  recent  investigation,  by  a  senatorial  com- 
mittee, that  the  Navy  requires  for  the  use  of  the  fleet  in  our  West- 
ern waters  about  300,000  tons  of  coal  annually.  This  it  transports 
from  Newport  News  around  Cape  Horn  at  a  cost  of  about  $5.00  or 


NEEDED  CHANGES  IN  MINERAL  LAND  LAWS  177 

$5.50  per  ton,  costing  the  Government  on  the  Pacific  Coast  about 
$8.00  a  ton,  when  an  abundance  of  coal  can  be  obtained  within 
twenty-five  miles  of  the  coast  of  Alaska  and  can  be  laid  down  at  the 
seaboard  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  $2.50.  In  other  words,  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  the  coal  deposits  of  Alaska  are  locked  up,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  is  paying  something  like  $1,500,000 
annually  for  freight  on  coal  which  is  carried  around  to  the  fleet. 

With  the  $1,500,000,  the  amount  the  United  States  is  so  paying 
each  year,  a  railroad  can  be  built  into  the  coal  fields  and  the  coal 
can  be  laid  down  at  tidewater  for  less  than  it  costs  at  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  Yet  it  seems  impossible  to  make  any  headway  towards 
securing  new  legislation  or  to  develop  any  of  the  rich  coal  deposits 
in  these  lands  under  the  existing  laws.  Practically  every  acre  known 
to  contain  coal  is  reserved  from  appropriation  and  no  patents  are 
being  issued  upon  the  appropriations  which  have  been  made. 

I  would  not  like  to  have  anybody  understand  that  I  am  offering 
any  criticism  whatever  of  the  initial  reservation  of  this  land,  of  the 
interruption  of  the  process  of  appropriation  of  the  same  by  private 
individuals.  In  fact,  I  am  profoundly  convinced  that  the  original 
reservation  was  a  wise,  just  and  commendable  effort  on  the  part 
of  those  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  public  lands;  but 
not  to  have  made  some  provision  since  that  time,  reasonably  adapted 
to  the  development  of  those  lands  and  the  utilization  of  their  great 
deposits  of  coal,  at  least  by  the  Navy  and  particularly  in  case  we 
should  unfortunately  become  involved  in  a  war  on  the  Pacific,  is 
something  that  approaches  in  gravity  a  crime. 

All  agree  on  the  necessity  for  some  legislation.  Of  what  na- 
ture? That  presents  a  most  serious  question  for  consideration. 
The  learned  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey,  to  whom  we  have 
listened  this  afternoon,  has  presented  very  strongly  the  sentiment 
prevailing  in  this  section  of  the  country  in  behalf  of  a  leasing  system. 
Senator  Shafroth  you  have  heard  advance  in  a  most  forcible  way 
many  of  the  considerations  of  weight  against  it.  That  it  will  be  an 
enormous  tax  upon  the  people  of  the  West  no  one  can  doubt,  even 
though  the  liberal  policy  suggested  by  the  Director  as  to  the  royalty 
to  be  paid  is  pursued.  For  instance,  you  would  consider,  perhaps, 
that  10  cents  per  ton  on  coal  would  be  a  very  low  royalty.  It  would 


I78  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

seem  so,  yet  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railway  operates 
coal  mines  at  the  town  of  Roundup,  in  my  State,  the  products  of 
which  are  utilized  by  that  road  only  for  operation  of  its  trains.  It 
produced  last  year  600,000  tons  of  coal,  and  if  it  had  become  neces- 
sary to  pay  a  royalty  of  10  cents  per  ton  that  road  would  have  paid 
$60,000  last  year  in  tribute  to  the  Government.  Of  course,  it  must 
add  just  that  much  to  the  amount  which  it  otherwise  would  charge 
the  people  of  our  State  for  freights  transported  into  the  State  or 
out  of  the  State,  in  order  to  recoup  itself.  Thus  whatever  amount 
is  paid  becomes  a  tax  upon  our  people. 

But  there  is  another  consideration.  It  is  as  a  matter  of  course 
desirable  that  these  lands  should  be  appropriated  with  reasonable 
rapidity.  Take  the  Alaska  coal  lands,  for  instance.  It  is  disclosed 
that  industries  of  that  section,  despairing  of  the  opening  of  the 
coal  lands,  have  made  other  arrangements  for  fuel,  and  more  partic- 
ularly many  of  the  markets  which  would  have  absorbed  the  coal 
mined  there  are  now  being  supplied  very  largely  by  oil  from  the 
State  of  California.  Great  dredging  enterprises  are  conducted  in 
Alaska  to-day,  the  fuel  for  which  is  transported  from  the  State  of 
California.  The  Treadwell  mine  uses  a  large  quantity  of  oil  for 
fuel;  it  has  installed  boilers  that  burn  oil.  It  does  not  care,  as  it 
once  did,  for  coal  from  Alaska — which  it  would  have  been  glad 
to  get  some  eight  or  ten  years  ago.  In  the  course  of  time  what  is 
known  as  white  coal  is  unquestionably  going  to  take  the  place  of 
the  black  coal  to  a  very  great  extent.  Our  State,  for  instance,  has 
water  power  resources  that  are  tremendous  in  the  aggregate.  The 
Missouri  River  is  fairly  well  dammed  now.  Four  great  power  dams 
are  now  in  operation  on  that  river,  with  a  fifth,  on  the  Madison,  one 
of  its  tributaries,  and  another,  the  greatest  of  all,  is  now  being 
installed. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  power  sites  in  the  world,  perhaps, 
is  that  of  the  Pend  d'Oreille.  The  Kootena  furnishes  an  endless 
amount  of  power.  Clark's  Fork  is  a  series  of  cascades  in  our  State. 

It  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  coal  will  no  longer  be  our 
chief  reliance  as  a  source  of  power,  as  it  is  now,  and  as  it  has  been 
in  the  past.  In  the  future  unquestionably  other  sources  of  power- 
will  be  developed  and  we  are  all  apprehensive  that  under  a  leasing 


NEEDED  CHANGES  IN  MINERAL  LAND  LAWS  179 

system,  such  as  has  been  suggested,  the  coal  lands  of  our  State  will 
lie  idle  for  a  generation,  at  least. 

Of  course,  it  is  different  here.  The  State  of  West  Virginia 
and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  are  in  the  midst  of  conditions  essen- 
tially different.  The  great  markets  for  coal  are  close  at  hand.  The 
region  is  an  old  one,  that  is,  it  has  long  been  known.  It  has  been 
extensively  explored.  The  risk  attendant  upon  operating  is  no- 
where near  so  great,  and  the  demand  is  unfailing. 

The  market  is  to  the  North  and  the  South  and  the  East  and  the 
West.  The  great  commercial  cities  and  the  great  industrial  centers 
are  here  for  the  consumption  of  that  coal.  The  output  of  our  mines 
must  be  transported  two  or  three  hundred  miles  to  a  market  that  is 
limited  at  the  best.  Therefore,  you  cannot  reason  that  because  the 
leasing  system  is  a  wise  system  here  and  in  this  locality  it  ought  to 
be  in  our  section. 

Moreover,  we  ought  to  learn  something  from  experience  along 
these  lines.  In  a  discussion  of  this  matter  one  of  my  colleagues  said 
to  me  some  time  ago:  "It  seems  to  me  the  right  thing  to  do  is  to 
provide  for  the  payment  of  a  royalty,  not  upon  the  gross  output  but 
upon  the  net  proceeds  of  the  operation  of  the  mine."  He  readily 
perceived  that  10  cents  per  ton  might  be  an  oppressive  burden.  He 
said:  "I  think  the  royalties  ought  to  be  paid  upon  the  net  profits  of 
the  operation  rather  than  on  the  gross  output." 

Now,  really,  that  strikes  one  as  an  exceedingly  sensible  sugges- 
tion, and  the  plan  proposed  an  exceedingly  reasonable  kind  of  a 
solution  of  this  problem,  but,  when  tried  out,  as  it  has  been  tried 
out  all  over  the  West,  it  has  been  discarded  as  an  impossible  thing. 

We  have  had  no  little  experience  in  regard  to  that  matter. 
Senator  Shafroth  and  myself  have  been  for  twenty  years  practic- 
ing law  in  the  mining  region  and  we  can  point  you  to  practical  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  the  successful  operation  of  what  seems  a  very 
perfect  system.  We  have  tried  it.  A  man  locates  a  mining  claim, 
develops  it  enough  to  show  that  it  is  a  good  prospect  and  then 
usually  leases  it.  The  lessees  are  not  any  longer  paying  a  royalty 
on  the  net  profits  of  the  mine.  That  system  was  discarded  long 
ago.  The  trouble  began  because  there  was  nobody  who  could  tell 


i8o  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

what  the  profits  were.  There  was  always  a  controversy  as  to 
whether  any  amount  spent  for  development  work  was  to  be  de- 
ducted from  the  gross  returns  and,  if  so,  how  much.  Of  course, 
if  the  lessee  was  to  be  permitted  to  go  on  and  conduct  such  develop- 
ment work  as  he  saw  fit,  the  result  would  be  that  there  never  would 
be  any  profits  at  all  until  he  got  ready  to  distribute  net  profits.  Then 
there  arose  the  question  of  account,  and  almost  invariably  that  kind 
of  a  contract  led  to  a  lawsuit.  But  that  is  not  so  bad,  because  the 
lessor  had  an  opportunity  to  go  into  court  and  have  the  thing  finally 
determined  and  adjudicated.  He  would  represent  to  the  Court  that 
although  the  books  showed  no  net  profits,  a  large  amount  of  money 
was  being  uselessly  spent  in  what  was  claimed  to  be  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mine,  that  the  operator  was  paying  large  and  unneces- 
sary salaries  to  his  superintendents  and  an  unnecessary  amount  to 
his  men,  and  that  there  was  more  expense  incurred  because  of 
timbers  used  in  the  work  than  was  actually  necessary.  After  a  long 
trial  he  would  eventually  get  an  adjudication  as  to  whether  there 
was  a  net  profit.  It  was  expensive,  but  he  had  some  redress.  He 
could  sue  the  other  man.  But  you  cannot  sue  the  United  States, 
and  so  if  you  lease  from  the  Government  you  have  absolutely  no 
redress  at  all. 

You  say:  "Mr.  Director,  I  mean  to  do  such  and  such  develop- 
ment work,  and  I  desire  to  get  credit  for  the  cost  of  it  in  the  ac- 
counting for  any  ores  which  may  be  extracted  from  the  mine."  Mr. 
Director  will  say :  "If  you  do  that  I  will  not  allow  you  to  take  credit 
for  it  on  any  returns  which  you  get."  What  can  the  lessee  do  ?  He 
has  to  follow  the  dictum  of  the  Government  officers,  or  he  has  to 
quite  his  lease.  Under  these  conditions  how  can  it  be  believed  that 
any  one  will  put  $250,000  or  $300,000  into  a  property  for  the  de- 
velopment of  a  coal  mine? 

The  system  of  paying  a  royalty  upon  the  net  profits  will  not 
work  with  the  Government  as  a  landlord,  if  for  no  other  reason  that 
because  there  are  no  means  of  adjusting  any  differences  which  may 
arise  between  the  lessee  and  the  lessor,  except  permission  is  given  to 
sue  the  Government. 

So  if  you  adopt  the  leasing  system  at  all  you  will  be  obliged 
to  exact  a  royalty  upon  every  ton  of  coal  that  comes  out  of  the  mine. 
That  conclusion  follows,  as  well,  as  the  result  of  our  experience  in 


NEEDED  CHANGES  IN  MINERAL  LAND  LAWS  181 

the  West.  Leases  containing  a  provision  for  the  payment  of  a  pre- 
centage  of  the  net  outcome  have  been  abandoned  entirely.  Prac- 
tically all  require  the  payment  of  a  royalty  upon  the  net  output — 
so  much  a  ton,  or  such  a  percentage  of  the  smelter  returns.  In  the 
disposition  of  the  Government  coal  land  the  royalty  will  have  to 
be  calculated,  as  I  think,  upon  the  gross  output,  should  a  leasing 
system  be  adopted.  Then  arises  the  difficulty  of  fixing  what  it 
should  be.  Anybody  can  see  who  thinks  about  the  matter  at  all 
that  such  a  system  imposes  a  tremendous  burden  upon  the  people 
who  have  settled  in  those  regions  which  Nature  has  blessed  with 
these  natural  resources — that  in  reality  the  royalty  paid  becomes 
a  tax  upon  them. 

We  are  not  at  all  insensible  to  the  fact  that  frequently  when 
the  fee  is  granted  properties  of  very  great  value  get  into  the  hands 
of  private  owners  for  a  very  small  amount,  but  that  is  the  case  with 
gold,  silver  and  other  mines  as  well.  And  it  is  this  very  chance  of 
the  possibility  of  great  returns  that  spurs  endeavor,  that  prompts 
the  discovery  and  exploitation  of  such.  I  want  to  say  one  thing  in 
this  connection,  and  that  is  that  the  people  of  the  West  are  obviously 
more  immediately  and  vitally  concerned  in  the  preservation  of  these 
great  natural  resources  and  in  making  them  contribute  to  the  de- 
volopment  of  their  States  respectively  than  people  living  two  or 
three  thousand  miles  away  can  possibly  be.  They  are  as  much  con- 
cerned as  anybody  in  the  East  can  possibly  be,  that  none  of  these 
great  resources  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  plundering  interests,  and 
particularly  that  they  shall  not  be  gathered  up  and  appropriated  by 
monopolizing  organizations  which  seek  to  utilize  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exacting  a  tribute  from  a  patient  and  long  suffering  people. 

Some  provisions  must  be  made,  likewise,  which  will  permit  of 
the  appropriation  of  lands  containing  oil  and  gas  under  a  plan  that  is 
more  appropriate  to  the  necessities  of  the  case  than  a  placer  mining 
location. 

I  am  disposed  to  be  much  more  tolerant  of  the  idea  of  leasing 
in  the  case  of  oil  and  gas  than  I  am  in  the  case  of  coal,  and  cer- 
tainly in  the  case  of  lands  containing  metalliferous  ores.  The  leas- 
ing system  works  tolerably  well  in  the  West  with  respect  to  gas  and 
cil.  In  the  State  of  Wyoming  there  are  a  great  many  oil  and  gas 
properties  that  have  been  developed  under  a  leasing  system,  and  I 


182  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

see  no  reason  for  doubting  that  explorers  will  be  as  glad  to  obtain 
privileges  upon  the  public  lands  as  on  those  held  in  private  owner- 
ship, the  terms  being  the  same. 

I  believe  in  the  case  of  lands  containing  oil  or  gas  an  oppor- 
tunity should  be  given  to  carry  on  the  explorations  with  a  pre- 
emption right. 

It  is  rather  unfortunate  that  the  one  upon  whom  the  burden  of 
original  exploration  falls, .  the  pioneer  should  not  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  secure  at  least  the  place  upon  which  he  is  conducting  his 
operations.  Yet,  under  the  existing  laws,  he  has  no  right,  prior  to 
actual  discovery,  even  of  occupancy  except  to  the  space  upon  which 
his  machinery  is  erected  and  upon  which  he  is  conducting  his  opera- 
tions. 

The  West  has  been  represented  in  the  United  States  Senate  in 
the  past  by  many  very  able  and  profound  students  of  the  national 
questions  in  which  it  is  more  directly  interested.  They  were,  how- 
ever, to  a  very  great  extent  pioneers,  not  brought  into  direct  con- 
tact with  the  questions  that  now  most  concern  us  until  late  in  life. 
It  is  perhaps  fortunate  for  the  country  at  this  time  that  there  are 
in  the  Senate,  and  in  the  House  as  well,  a  great  many  men  who 
have  been  impelled  by  reason  of  business  and  professional  interests 
to  give  the  closest  study  to  the  solution  of  them.  I  can  assure  the 
people  of  the  country,  so  far  as  they  may  be  represented  at  this 
Congress,  that  there  is  a  deep  and  earnest  desire  among  all  the 
Representatives  of  the  West  to  solve  these  questions  in  that  spirit. 

I  cannot  for  one  single  moment  conceive  that  there  is  any  con- 
siderable sentiment  in  this  section  of  the  country  which  looks  to 
the  ownership  of  these  great  natural  resources  out  in  the  West  as 
a  means  of  enriching  the  national  treasury — the  proceeds  to  be  ex- 
pended for  national  purposes. 

When  the  public  lands  were  first  secured  by  grants  from  the 
States  it  was  expected,  indeed  in  some  quarters  it  was  feared,  that 
from  their  sale  there  would  eventually  be  realized  a  tremendous 
sum  to  go  towards  discharging  the  expenses  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment. It  soon  was  disclosed,  however,  that  that  was  not  a  sound 
view,  and  that  the  policy  of  selling  for  the  best  price  obtainable  was 
not  a  wise  one ;  that  the  wisest  policy  for  the  Government  to  pursue 


NEEDED  CHANGES  IN  MINERAL  LAND  LAWS  183 

was  to  offer  these  lands  at  a  very  low  price,  and  particularly  to  en- 
courage their  rapid  settlement.  It  was  demonstrated  over  and  over 
again  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  speedily  got  from 
the  new  communities  more  revenue  from  internal  taxes  and  customs 
duties  paid  by  them  than  could  ever  be  secured  by  holding  the  lands 
and  selling  them  at  a  profit. 

I  think  we  may  safely  feel  that  there  is  no  sentiment  abroad  in 
this  section  of  the  country,  although  an  effort  has  been  made  in 
some  quarters  to  cultivate  it,  in  favor  of  a  policy  somewhat  different 
from  this. 

Reference  has  been  made  in  a  magazine  article  exploiting  our 
wealth  of  natural  resources.  I  read  one  a  short  time  ago  telling 
of  the  Forestry  Bureau,  and  what  it  had  achieved.  Let  me  say  now 
that  a  great  deal  of  the  opposition  and  the  antagonism  toward  the 
Forestry  Service  and  the  idea  of  forest  preservation  which  pre- 
vailed at  one  time  in  some  sections  of  the  country,  at  least,  has  quite 
passed  away.  We  are  very  much  more  hospitably  inclined  towards 
the  forestry  policy  than  we  were  some  years  ago. 

The  magazine  article  to  which  I  allude,  figured  up  just  exactly 
what  the  total  value  of  all  the  forests  of  this  country  belonging  to 
the  United  States  is.  The  aggregate  was  divided  by  one  hundred 
million  and  the  result  exhibited  as  the  share  of  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  forest  lands  of  the  nation.  The  purpose  was  to 
impress  the  reader  with  the  idea  of  personal  wealth,  and  to  imbue 
him  with  the  idea  that  no  policy  ought  to  be  pursued  which  would 
deprive  him  of  the  heritage  thus  accruing  to  him.  By  a  similar 
course  of  reflection  a  man  may  indulge  the  belief  that  he  is  com- 
fortably rich  though  he  did  not  have  five  cents  to  buy  a  loaf  of 
bread.  He  might  calculate  what  is  his  part  of  the  money  invested  in 
public  buildings  of  the  country,  the  harbors,  river  improvements, 
and  other  public  property,  not  to  mention  specifically  all  other  pub- 
lic lands  besides  those  that  are  forested. 

I  do  not  think  that  that  kind  of  argument  impresses  the  people 
of  this  section  of  the  country  very  deeply.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
they  feel  these  great  natural  resources  belong  to  the  people  of  the 
nation  who  hold  them  for  those  who  go  out  on  the  frontier  and  de- 
velop them,  in  just  the  same  way  as  the  resources  of  the  older  sec- 


184  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

tions  of  our  common  country  were  utilized  for  the  immediate  benefit 
of  the  people  who  first  subdued  them.  We  have  a  common  interest 
in  devising  a  system  that  will  contribute  most  rapidly  to  the  develop- 
ment of  these  resources,  and  at  the  same  time,  confer  the  most  last- 
ing benefit  upon  the  nation. 


The  Public  Land  Laws. 

HON.    A.    A.    JONES, 
FIRST  ASSISTANT  SECRETARY  INTERIOR,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:  I  did  not  expect  to  be  called 
upon  to  address  this  assembly.  It  is  the  duty,  in  part,  of  the  Interior 
Department  to  interpret  the  laws  which  you  have  been  discussing, 
to  administer  them,  and  also  upon  request  of  members  oi  Congress, 
to  make  suggestions  looking  to  new  legislation,  and  the  purpose  of 
my  visit  to  this  city,  and  to  this  Congress,  was  to  obtain  such  in- 
formation as  would  aid  me  in  the  better  performance  of  official  duty. 
But  as  a  citizen  of  the  West  I  have  a  kindred  feeling  with  those 
who  are  assembled  here. 

The  mining  laws  of  the  country  are  largely  applicable  in  all 
that  great  section  of  which  I  am  a  citizen.  Having  lived  in  my 
adopted  State  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  have  breathed 
the  Western  air,  and  as  a  citizen  of  that  section  I  have  watched  the 
administration  of  the  laws  of  the  country.  I  have  seen  wherein 
development  has  been  retarded,  and  in  the  very  nature  of  things  I 
have  been  impressed  with  the  fact  that  changes  are  necessary. 

In  regard  to  the  land  bearing  metallic  ores,  certain  changes  in 
the  laws  would  aid  in  the  development  of  that  country.  There  is 
no  doubt  changes  should  be  made  in  the  laws  relative  to  the  develop- 
ment and  the  mining  of  coal  properties.  The  existing  laws  were 
not  framed  with  reference  to  existing  conditions,  but  forty  years  ago 
they  were  framed  for  conditions  of  that  time  when  the  use  of  coal 
was  limited. 

It  was  provided  that  no  citizen  could  take  up  more  than  160 
acres  of  coal  land,  and  that  an  association  of  citizens  could  acquire 
but  a  limited  area — much,  less  than  is  necessary  at  the  present  time 
and  under  present  conditions  to  develop  a  coal  mine. 

As  has  been  so  aptly  stated  by  the  Senator  from  Montana,  it 
is  recognized  that  the  people  of  the  whole  United  States  have  an 
interest  in  the  resources  of  that  country,  but  as  Western  citizens, 
we  look  forward  to  the  time  when  each  citizen  of  the  country  shall 


186  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

undertake  to  obtain  his  interest  in  those  resources.  If  you  of  Penn- 
sylvania, or  you  of  Utah,  feel  that  you  have  an  interest  in  the  coal 
lands  of  Colorado  or  New  Mexico  it  is  your  privilege  to  go  to  those 
States  and  there  make  those  resources  productive  and  do  something 
to  develop  that  section  of  the  country. 

How  this  may  be  done  is  the  great  problem.  I  appreciate  the 
objection  to  a  lease  law  as  stated  by  the  Senators  from  Montana 
and  Colorado,  but  there  are  also  objections  to  be  made  to  the  dis- 
posal in  fee  of  coal  land. 

I  apprehend  that  the  great  dissatisfaction  which  prevails  in 
regard  to  a  leasing  system  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  present 
method  of  disposal  of  the  mines  is  decidedly  unwise  and  tends  to 
retard  the  development  of  the  country.  But  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  West  desires  to  return  to  the  old  system  under  which  land  con- 
taining coal  was  disposed  of. 

The  law  of  course  was  violated  and  in  many  cases  it  was 
deemed  necessary  that  it  be  violated.  The  laws  were  not  fitted  for 
the  development  of  the  industry,  and,  consequently,  through  use  of 
dummy  entrymen  the  operators  managed  to  get  into  one  ownership 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  to  enable  the  coal  to  be  produced  and 
put  on  the  market. 

If  you  are  to  simply  take  off  the  limit  of  the  quantity  of  land 
which  may  be  acquired  you  still  have  a  condition  which  I  do  not 
believe  impresses  the  ordinary  mind  as  being  a  wise  one. 

But  something  must  be  done.  If  the  lands  are  sold  at  the 
prices  suggested  by  the  Senator  from  Colorado,  then  it  seems  to  me 
an  unnecessary  burden  is  put  upon  the  consumer  of  that  product. 
The  investment  of  $400  an  acre  in  coal  land  would  mean  a  continu- 
ing burden  upon  the  consumer — a  tax  upon  the  kitchen  and  the 
fireside. 

If  the  consumer  in  the  West  may  be  relieved  from  the  neces- 
sity of  such  an  investment  then  to  that  extent  you  aid  in  the  develop- 
ment of  that  section  of  the  country.  If,  as  stated  by  Director  Smith 
in  his  paper,  the  royalty  is  for  the  purpose  only  of  control  and  not 
for  the  purpose  of  revenue,  then  is  it  not  possible  in  that  way  to 
relieve  the  consumer  of  a  considerable  burden?  I  do  not  under- 
take to  say  what  should  be  the  exact  form  of  legislation.  But  that 
legislation  is  necessary  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  as  to  the  basic 
principle  of  legislation,  I  believe  the  people  of  the  country  are 
almost  unanimous — that  these  Western  lands  and  resources  shall 


THE  PUBLIC  LAND  LAWS  187 

not  be  exploited  for  the  purpose  of  raising  revenues  to  run  the 
general  Government.     (Applause.) 

The  West  is  unalterably  opposed  to  that  idea,  and  except  for 
the  population  which  exists  in  the  West,  and  which  we  hope  may  be 
increased  in  the  near  future — except  for  the  existence  of  that  pop- 
ulation the  resources  of  the  West  would  have  no  value  whatever; 
and  if  you  want  to  give  to  those  resources  value  you  must  so  use 
them  as  to  build  up  that  section  of  the  country,  to  build  up  homes 
there,  to  build  up  industries  there  which  may  consume  and  use  the 
resources. 

We  are  all  agreed  in  the  West  that  we  do  not  want  monopoly 
in  coal  lands.  In  my  State,  New  Mexico,  one  concern  to-day  con- 
trols more  than  a  half  million  acres  of  coal  land.  We  do  not  want 
that.  The  West  does  not  want  it.  We  feel  that  these  monopolies 
should  not  exist ;  we  feel  that  we  want  the  highest  form  of  develop- 
ment, that  we  want  the  mines  run  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  waste  the 
resources  of  the  country.  We  want  sufficient  wages  paid  to  those 
who  are  engaged  in  bringing  into  use  the  natural  resources.  We 
want  all  the  safety  appliances  that  are  necessary,  and  the  consuming 
public  is  willing  to  pay  the  bill. 

These  are  the  conditions  desired  in  that  section  of  the  country, 
and  I  believe  when  they  are  fairly  presented  to  the  people  of  the 
nation  they  will  realize  that  what  we  are  all  seeking  is  the  upbuild- 
ing and  the  development  of  that  section  of  the  country  as  well  as 
the  proper  utilization  of  these  resources — the  banishing  of  monopoly 
and  waste,  and  the  bringing  about  of  prosperous  and  happy  homes. 
(Applause.) 


Administration  of  Our  Public  Land  Laws. 

CLAY  TALLMAN, 
COMMISSIONER  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,  WASHINGTON,  D.   C. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen :  I  came  over  here  to  attend  this 
meeting  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  the  remarks  of  others,  and 
not  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  to  make  remarks  or  to  state  my 
views  on  the  subjects  di'scussed.  I  came  here  to  endeavor,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  viewpoint,  opinion  and  judg- 
ment of  those  men  who  are  actively  engaged  in  actual  mining 
operations  and  in  the  development  of  the  mining  interests  through- 
out the  country.  * 

As  you  are  all  well  aware,  the  position  I  hold  with  the  Gov- 
ernment is  administrative  and  semi- judicial  in  its  character;  except 
in  a  very  minor  way,  it  is  not  within  my  province  to  lay  down  any 
policy.  Policies  of  the  Department  are  properly  determined  by 
the  head  of  the  Department.  I  have  listened  with  great  interest 
to  the  discussions  here  of  the  operation  of  the  various  public  land 
laws,  particularly  those  respecting  mining.  Practically  all  of  these 
laws  it  is  the  duty  of  my  office  to  administer  in  the  first  instance. 
With  respect  to  the  inadequacy  and  inconsistency  of  many  of  the 
public  land  laws,  I  think  probably  no  one  more  fully  realizes  the 
short-comings  of  these  laws  and  the  difficulties  inherent  in  them 
and  in  their  subject  matter,  than  the  men  engaged  in  the  administra- 
tion of  those  laws  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  You  will 
find  that  many  of  these  Government  officials  will  agree  with  you  as 
respects  many  of  the  alleged  defects  of  our  public  land  laws,  and 
no  one  more  than  they  is  more  anxious  for  a  complete,  comprehen- 
sive, scientific  and  workable  revision  of  the  public  land  laws,  partic- 
ularly the  mining  laws. 

If  you  will,  for  the  moment,  place  yourselves  in  our  position, 
you  will  readily  appreciate  that  we  are  between  two  fires.  On  the 
one  hand,  there  are  the  laws  laid  down  by  Congress,  and  we  feel 
and  believe  it  our  duty  to  administer  and  enforce  those  laws  and  to 
carry  out  fully  the  intent  of  Congress  as  best  we  can.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  feel  compelled  not  infrequently  to  take  due  cog- 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  PUBLIC  LAND  LAWS  189 

nizance  of  conditions  and  resulting  injustice  which  would  follow  a 
strict  interpretation  and  application  of  the  law.  These  questions,  as 
they  arise  in  every  conceivable  way,  require  serious  thought  and 
consideration.  As  a  result  we  are  not  infrequently  charged,  on  the 
one  hand,  of  failing  to  observe  the  plain  mandates  of  the  law,  while 
again  we  are  doubtless  more  frequently  charged  with  being  bureau- 
cratic. 

In  considering  these  various  acts  of  Congress  that  have  been 
discussed  here  to-day,  however,  I  argee  with  the  Senator  from 
Montana,  that  we  should  not  lose  sight,  for  a  single  moment,  of  the 
highly  desirable  basic  principles  of  some  of  the  laws  of  Congress 
as  they  now  exist.  The  wisdom  and  foresight  of  the  framers  of 
our  mineral  land  laws  and  of  the  homestead  laws,  for  instance,  can- 
not be  discounted.  Under  these  laws,  the  great  agricultural  and 
mining  industries,  almost  from  the  Ohio  River  westward  to  the 
Pacific  Coast,  have  been  developed.  These  laws  have  encouraged 
active  discovery  and  development  of  the  mineral  resources  in  the 
mining  regions,  and  have  enabled  millions  of  people  to  secure  their 
own  self-supporting  homes  in  the  agricultural  regions.  It  behooves 
us  then  to  give  careful  thought  to  any  change  in  the  basic  princi- 
ples of  some  of  these  laws,  under  which  we  have  witnessed  the 
great  western  development  of  the  last  fifty  years. 

Notwithstanding  the  commendable  features  of  many  of  these 
acts  of  Congress,  we  have,  nevertheless,  come  to  a  day  in  the  admin- 
istration of  many  of  these  laws  where  there  is  no  question  as  to 
their  inadequacy ;  we  have  also  come  to  a  time  when  there  has  arisen 
a  distinct  difference  of  opinion  on  broad  questions  of  policy  as 
respects  the  management  and  handling  of  our  remaining  public 
resources  in  the  Western  States.  These  different  view-points  are  in 
some  respects  fairly  illustrated  by  the  respective  positions  taken 
by  Director  Smith  of  the  Geological  Survey  and  by  Senator  Shaf- 
roth  of  Colorado. 

It  is  not  for  me,  as  a  ministerial  officer,  to  attempt,  or  to  pre- 
sume for  a  minute  to  lay  down  broad  general  principles  of  policy, 
either  in  my  Department  or  for  Congress.  If  I  may  be  permitted 
to  express  a  personal  opinion,  in  connection  with  the  matters  re- 
ferred to  by  the  speakers  who  have  just  preceded  me,  to  my  mind 
and  as  a  result  of  my  experience,  it  seems  to  me  that  these  questions 
are  more  largely  questions  of  facts  and  figures  pertaining  to  each 


igo  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

of  these  great  public  resources  than  they  are  questions  of  abstract 
legal  rights  as  to  jurisdiction.  In  my  view,  I  am  not  disposed  to 
spend  so  much  time  or  to  attach  so  much  importance  to  any  abstract 
questions  of  State  rights  involved  in  this  discussion;  I  am  more 
disposed  to  figure  out  the  best  possible  way  to  administer  and  dis- 
pose of  these  natural  resources  in  the  West  for  the  best  and  greatest 
upbuilding  of  the  West  and  the  nation  as  a  whole,  and  I  am  not  so 
particular,  on  any  question  of  principle,  whether  the  administration 
of  these  resources  is  under  the  direction  of  the  States  or  the  Federal 
Government.  I  believe  that  if  investigation  and  study  of  any  re- 
source indicates  that  the  State  can  handle  same  better  than  the 
Federal  Government,  then  let  us  give  that  right  to  the  State.  If  it 
should  appear,  however,  viewed  from  all  standpoints,  that  such 
resources  can  be  handled  better  by  a  Bureau  Department  of  the 
Federal  Government,  then  let  us  lodge  the  duty  there. 

I  am  frank  to  say  that  as  I  see  things  now,  I  concur  with  Sena- 
tor Shafroth  on  this  point,  namely,  that  the  net  income  arising  from 
these  resources,  whatever  form  it  may  take,  whether  royalty  or  land 
tax,  or  tax  on  output,  or  otherwise,  or  in  whatever  way  it  is  paid, 
should  go  to  the  upbuilding  and  benefit  of  the  respective  States  in 
which  these  resources  are  situated. 

Now,  that  does  not  argue  that  the  leasing  system  is  necessarily 
improper  or  impossible ;  it  results  simply  in  this :  that  the  royalties, 
fees  or  whatever  income  is  derived  from  the  coal  leases,  for  in- 
stance, over  and  above  the  actual  cost  of  administration,  shall  go 
into  the  State  treasury  for  the  upbuilding  of  State  institutions.  If 
Colorado  has  so  many  hundreds  of  billions  of  tons  of  coal  as  has 
been  stated  here  this  afternoon,  it  is  apparent  that  a  very  low  rental, 
so  low  as  to  be  scarcely  felt  by  the  consumer,  would  result  in  bring- 
ing into  the  coffers  of  the  State  a  tremendous  sum  of  money;  I  do 
not  think  the  people  are  so  particular  as  to  who  happens  to  be  the 
lessor  or  the  lessee  of  these  resources,  so  long  as  the  benefit  derived 
therefrom  goes  to  the  people  or  community  entitled  thereto. 

One  point  I  would  not  have  you  overlook,  however,  with  re- 
spect to  the  present  method  of  administering  the  coal  land  laws ;  as 
you  are  all  well  aware,  coal  lands  have  been  classified  by  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  and  prices  fixed  at  which  they  may  be  purchased 
under  existing  laws.  Last  week  there  came  into  my  office  a  single 
check  for  $86,400  in  payment  for  320  acres  of  coal  land  in  the  State 
of  Utah.  You  all  realize  that  this  is  an  extraordinary  sale  of  Gov- 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  PUBLIC  LAND  LAWS  191 

ernment  lands.  What  becomes  of  this  money  as  well  as  all  the  other 
proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  ?  It  does  not  remain 
in  the  East  for  the  building  of  shore  defenses,  but  practically  all  of 
it  is  turned  back  into  the  reclamation  fund  and  is  again  used  in  the 
West  for  the  further  development  of  the  agricultural  resources  of 
that  section  of  the  country.  Hence  we  see  that  we  can  not  view 
this  question  of  public  land  laws,  price  and  income  without  taking 
a  comprehensive  view  of  the  entire  scheme. 

My  inclination  is  to  say  too  much  on  these  lines  when  once 
started.  I  think  all  of  these  subjects  are  exceedingly  important  and 
far-reaching  in  their  effect.  They  all  deserve  the  most  serious  and 
careful  consideration  of  the  mining  men  of  the  country  as  well  as 
members  of  Congress  and  Department  officials.  On  the  whole,  I 
have  the  highest  hopes  that  between  and  among  able  and  conscien- 
tious men  in  Congress  and  Departmental  officials,  ready  and  willing 
at  all  times  to  give  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  experience  of 
these  subjects  from  the  administrative  end,  backed  by  a  sound,  sane 
and  conservative,  but  just  and  progressive  public  opinion,  we  will 
be  able  to  work  out  these  big  problems  in  a  way  more  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  people  of  the  West  than  we  are  doing  at  the  present 
time. 


The  Coal  Resources  of  Alaska. 

W.   R.   CRANE. 
STATE    COLLEGE,    PA. 


An  apparently  well-informed  individual  on  reading  an  article 
in  a  technical  journal  on  the  Matanuska  coal  field  wrote  to  the 
editor  inquiring  in  what  part  of  the  world  the  Matanuska  field  is 
situated;  and  accurate  information  regarding  the  coal  fields  is 
even  more  vague  than  the  knowledge  of  their  location. 

Such  expressions  as  "literally  mountains  of  coal"  have  been 
used  rather  indiscriminately  by  certain  writers  concerning  the 
Alaska  coal  fileds.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  residents  of  that  terri- 
tory are  more  conservative  in  their  attitude  and  statements.  The 
most  exaggerated  view  that  the  writer  heard  expressed  during  a 
stay  of  a  year  in  Alaska  was  in  answer  to  a  query  where  the  best 
occurrence  of  coal  could  be  found  in  the  Bering  River  field.  "Dig 
anywhere  and  you  will  find  coal." 

The  extent  of  the  coal  fields  is  largely  an  unknown  quantity, 
although  extensive  areas  of  coal-bearing  formations  have  been 
definitely  located  and  are  constantly  being  added  to  by  new  dis- 
coveries. There  are  fully  1500  square  miles  of  coal-bearing  for- 
mations and  probably  six  times  that  area  of  coal-bearing  forma- 
tions not  known  to  contain  workable  coal. 

The  best  known  fields  are  the  Bering  River,  the  Matanuska, 
Cook  Inlet,  Chignik  Bay,  large  areas  in  the  interior  along  the 
Tanana  and  Yukon  Rivers,  and  certain  areas  in  the  extreme  north- 
ern part  of  Alaska,  particularly  along  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

The  coals  are  largely  of  recent  origin  belonging  chiefly  to  the 
Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  periods,  although  limited  areas  occur  in 
the  Carboniferous  and  Jurassaic  periods.  The  more  recent  coals 
are  lignitic  in  character  and  comprise  the  larger  part  of  the  coal- 
bearing  areas.  Roughly  it  may  be  said  that  the  fossil  fields  of  the 
interior  of  Alaska  are  lignites,  while  those  occurring  along  the 
coast  or  adjacent  to  areas  of  volcanic  rooks  and  disturbed  areas 
are  true  coals.  The  comparatively  recent  deposits  of  organic 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  193 

matter  have  thus  been  matured  by  earth  movements  and  through 
proximity  to  highly  heated  masses  of  igneous  rocks  and  are  now 
coal,  although  of  a  wide  range  of  values. 

Considerable  development  work  has  been  done  in  the  Bering 
River,  the  Matanuska,  Cook  Inlet  and  Chignik  Bay  regions,  but 
so  far  it  has  been  very  inadequate,  even  from  the  standpoint  of 
proving  the  extent  and  value  of  the  fields.  That  there  are  exten- 
sive deposits  of  coal  in  each  of  these  fields  is  well  known,  but 
until  thoroughly  prospected  their  continuity  and  value  will  be 
largely  problematic. 

In  those  regions  where  coal  beds  occur  horizontally  or  at 
slight  inclination  and  extend  over  large  areas  with  uniformity  of 
thickness  and  character,  their  development  and  working  is  a 
simple  matter,  but  where  the  nature  of  their  occurrence  is  extreme 
with  respect  to  position  and  condition  of  the  beds,  where  each  foot 
of  development  work  may  reveal  new  and  unexpected  conditions, 
then  before  extensive  operations  can  be  hoped  for,  there  must  be 
imperative  need  of  the  coal  and  wide  experience  in  the  develop- 
ment and  mining  of  difficult  deposits.  This  may  be  considered 
a  broad  statement  regarding  the  occurrence  of  the  coal,  but  lit- 
erally true,  for  in  every  region  visited  the  same  conditions  were 
found  to  exist,  in  some  instances  better,  in  others  worse.  There 
are  portions  of  each  field  where  the  coal  beds  approach  normal 
conditions,  but  they  constitute  the  minor  part  and  will  probably 
be  of  sufficient  extent  to  exert  a  predominating  influence  on  the 
work  of  development  and  mining. 

In  the  Bering  River  field  there  are  49  square  miles  known 
to  contain  coal  and  21.6  square  miles  of  coal-bearing  formations, 
in  which  no  coal  of  importance  has  been  found.  The  coals  of 
this  field  are  semibituminous,  semianthracite  and  anthracite,  and 
are  of  fair  grade.  From  the  standpoint  of  fuel  value  these  coals 
are  excellent,  but  their  physical  condition,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, is  poor.  The  coal  beds  have  been  folded,  faulted  and  trav- 
ersed by  igneous  intrusions,  which,  while  resulting  in  aging  of 
the  deposits,  have  also  seriously  broken  the  coal  and  in  many 
places  rendered  large  areas  worthless  by  burning  to  coke. 

The  coals  of  many  portions  of  the  field  are  practically  inac- 
cessible, owing  to  their  location  on  steep  mountain  slopes  and 
rugged  ridges ;  however,  it  is  possible  that  the  larger  part  of  the 


194  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

coal  can  be  worked  from  the  stream  levels.  Owing  to  the  ex- 
cessive rainfall,  the  precipitation  often  exceeding  150  inches  per 
year,  the  conditions  are  particularly  favorable  for  vegetable 
growth,  with  the  result  that  the  mountains  are  covered  with  a 
mantle  of  moss  as  well  as  thickets  of  willow  and  alder,  which 
seriously  interfere  with  the  work  of  prospecting,  development  and 
transportation.  All  of  the  lanre  streams  have  as  their  source 
extensive  fields  of  glacial  ice  practically  enclosing  the  field,  which, 
with  the  excessive  rainfall,  keeps  them  in  an  almost  continuous 
state  of  flooding. 

The  production  of  coal  from  the  Bering  River  field  has  been 
very  limited,  probably  not  exceeding  1800  tons.  Somewhat  over 
800  tons  were  mined  by  the  Bureau  of  Mines  for  the  Navy,  to  be 
used  for  testing  purposes.  A  limited  amount  has  been  used 
locally  and  probably  a  still  smaller  amount  has  been  shipped  out 
of  the  country. 

The  United  States  Geological  Survey  has  made  extensive 
tests,  both  chemically  and  physically,  on  the  coals  of  this  field. 
The  results  of  some  of  these  tests  are  given  in  tabulated  form  on 
page  205. 

The  coals  of  the  Matanuska  Valley  are  semibituminous,  bitu- 
minous and  anthracite,  and  occur  in  a  known  area  of  70  square 
miles.  While  the  coal-bearing  area  in  the  Matanuska  Valley  ex- 
ceeds that  in  the  Bering  River  field,  being  300  square  miles,  yet 
there  are  probably  more  large  coal  beds  and  consequently  more 
coal  in  the  latter  field.  The  principal  occurrence  of  coal  along 
the  Matanuska  River  are  found  in  the  valleys  of  Boulder,  Chicka- 
loon,  Coal,  Carbon,  Kings,  Eska  and  Moose  Creeks.  The  anthra- 
cite regions  lies  to  the  eastward  of  Chickaloon  Creek  and  on  the 
slopes  of  the  mountains  east  of  Boulder  Creek.  The  bituminous 
coals  occur  on  Chickaloon,  Kings,  Carbon  and  Coal  Creeks,  while 
the  semibituminous  coals  are  found  on  Eska  and  Moose  Creeks. 

As  in  the  Bering  River  field  the  anthracite  coal  lies  in  the 
extreme  eastern  portion  of  the  coal-bearing  area  or  near  the  seat 
of  greatest  earth  movement  and  igneous  intrusions.  The  beds 
have  been  extensively  folded  and  otherwise  disturbed,  and  yet  the 
coal  is  in  fair  condition  physically.  The  bituminous  coals  have 
also  been  disturbed,  and,  even  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  anthra- 
cite, they  are  consequently  badly  broken.  The  semibituminous 
coals,  while  standing  at  various  angles  and  frequently  highly 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  195 

inclined,  show  less  disturbance  and  are  in  good  physical  condi- 
tion, as  is  evidenced  by  their  ability  to  resist  wear  when  exposed 
to  the  force  of  swift  mountain  streams. 

While  lying  at  a  greater  distance  inland,  the  coals  of  the  Mat- 
anuska Valley  are  in  large  part  more  accessible  than  those  of  the 
Bering  River  field,  and  being  probably  less  friable,  will  undoubt- 
edly be  the  first  to  receive  attention  when  the  coal  lands  are 
opened  for  development. 

Aside  from  local  consumption,  which  probably  has  not  ex- 
ceeded 200  tons,  the  coal  taken  out  of  the  Matanuska  field  is  a 
negligible  quantity.  However,  the  Bureau  of  Mines  is  now 
engaged  in  mining  from  500  to  800  tons  for  naval  tests. 

The  chemical  composition  and  fuel  value  of  the  Matanuska 
coals  are  shown  in  the  following  table:  (1) 

ANALYSIS  OF  MATANUSKA  COALS 

Total  Vola- 

Mois-    tile     Fixed  Sul-    Calo-  Fuel 

Districts.  ture.Matter. Carbon  Ash  phur.    ries.    B.T.U.Ratio. 

Chickaloon  Creek.  .  1.98  17.20  66.08  14.56  0.67  8260  14,868  3.77 
Carbon  &  Coal  Cr'k  4.20  19.72  65.26  10.82  0.42  6649  11,968  3.32 

Kings  Creek 1.45  22.77  66.40    9.38  0.67  7419  13,354  2.91 

Youngs  Creek 2.50  28.32  58.82  10.36  0.58  2.08 

Eska  Creek 6.08  35.41  49.78    8.23  0.42  6299  11,338  1.41 

Moose  Creek 7.04  35.45  49.10    8.41  0.32  1.39 

Generally  speaking,  the  coal  deposits  bordering  on  Cook  Inlet 
are  extensions  of  the  Matanuska  field,  but  of  a  more  recent  period. 
While  lignitic  in  character,  there  are  certain  small  areas  that 
border  closely  upon  semibituminous  coal.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  the  coal  found  at  Port  Graham,  which  owes  its  more 
mature  character  to  the  close  proximity  of  intruded  masses  of 
diabase  and  other  igneous  materials. 

Of  the  304  square  miles  of  known  coal-bearing  formations 
contiguous  to  Cook  Inlet,  by  far  the  larger  part  is  on  the  plateau 
of  Kenai  Peninsula,  particularly  on  its  southern  and  southwest- 
ern portions.  Probably  the  best  showing  occurs  on  the  north 
shore  of  Kachemak  Bay  and  along  the  east  shore  of  the  Inlet. 
Extensive  deposits  are  to  be  found  on  the  Shuitna  and  Beluga 
flats  and  extend  into  the  highlands  and  mountains  to  the  west- 
ward, which  area  is  known  as  the  Tyonek  field. 
(1)  U.  S.  G.  S.,  Bull.  No.  500,  pp.  89-91. 


196  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  deposits  of  this  region  show  all  of  the  gradations  from 
unaltered  wood,  through  brown  coal  and  peat,  to  a  fair  grade  of 
lignite.  The  ash-content  ranges  from  6  to  35  per  cent,  and  con- 
stitutes the  chief  objection  to  their  use  as  fuel,  and  particularly 
as  steam  producers. 

The  lignite  beds  of  the  Cook  Inlet  field  have  suffered  but 
little  through  earth  movements,  seldom  having  an  inclination 
exceeding  15  degrees.  Numerous  local  disturbances,  as  minor 
folds,  occur  and  while  faulting  is  not  infrequently  observed,  yet 
the  displacement  is  slight  and  rarely  exceeds  10  to  12  feet. 

Practically  the  only  coal  produced  in  Alaska,  aside  from  that 
mined  for  the  navy,  during  the  past  summer,  was  mined  at  Port 
Graham  on  the  Whorf  property,  which  property  has  the  added 
distinction  of  being  the  first  coal  claims  allowed  to  go  to  patent 
in  Alaska. 

Probably  the  field  next  in  importance  from  standpoint  of 
work  done  is  the  region  lying  along  the  shore  of  Chignik  Bay  and 
the  lagoon  of  Chignik  River.  This  field  is  in  certain  places  5  to 
6  miles  wide  and  at  other  points  does  not  exceed  one-half  mile  in 
width. 

Rising  from  the  ocean  level  along  the  west  shore  of  the  bay, 
the  coal-bearing  formations  increase  in  inclination  until  the  en- 
closing mountains  are  reached,  where  they  have  been  folded, 
faulted  and  crushed  by  the  upheaval  of  igneous  rock-masses.  It 
is  evident,  then,  that  the  condition  of  the  coal  must  be  similar  to 
that  in  the  other  fields  previously  mentioned,  and  is  in  many 
respects  much  worse.  The  coal  is  bituminous  and  lignitic  in 
character,  and  while  of  fair  grade,  has  considerable  ash.  It  be- 
longs to  the  upper  Cretaceous  period. 

Probably  several  thousand  tons  of  coal  have  been  mined  at 
various  points  in  the  field,  particularly  at  Whalers  and  McKinsie 
Creeks,  and  on  Chignik  River.  The  coal  has  been  used  to  a 
limited  extent  for  domestic  purposes,  but  chiefly  in  the  produc- 
tion of  steam  in  salmon  canneries  and  on  tugs  and  ocean-going 
steamers. 

Coal  has  also  been  mined  at  various  points  on  Bristol  Bay. 
on  the  Bering  Sea  and  along  the  Arctic  coast.  Rather  exten- 
sive development  work  has  been  done  at  Unga  Island,  near  the 
lower  end  of  the  Alaskan  Peninsula,  and  at  Herendeen  Bay,  also 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  197 

on  the  peninsula,  but  without  success.  The  coal  proved  to  be 
both  unsatisfactory  in  quality  and  uncertain  in  quantity.  Opera- 
tions at  both  points  have  long  since  been  abandoned. 

Whalers  have  for  many  years  obtained  coal  at  Corwin  mines, 
Cape  Lisburne,  on  the  Arctic  coast,  although  no  systematic  de- 
velopment work  has  ever  been  attempted.  The  coal  beds  of  this 
region  belong  to  the  lower  Carboniferous  period. 

It  is  reported  that  a  new  coal  field  has  been  discovered  at 
Yakataga,  several  hundred  miles  southeast  of  Controller  Bay, 
and  that  the  coal  is  similar  in  grade  to  that  of  the  Bering  River 
field.  Further,  the  beds  have  probably  not  been  seriously  affected 
by  earth  movements,  as  they  stand  at  moderate  inclinations. 
While  the  possibilities  of  mining  coal  in  this  region  are  prob- 
ably much  better  than  in  a  number  of  the  other  fields,  and  there 
are  good  harbor  facilities,  yet  owing  to  the  position  of  the  coast 
at  this  point  it  is  exposed  to  the  fury  of  storm  off  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Further,  the  close  proximity  of  vast  fields  of  glacial  ice 
ensures  an  excessive  amount  of  moisture,  both  rain  and  snow, 
with  attendant  disadvantages. 

There  are  numerous  exposures  of  coal  and  lignite,  principally 
the  latter,  on  all  of  the  large  streams  in  the  interior  of  Alaska. 
Coal  is  found  throughout  the  greater  part. of  the  course  of  the 
Yukon,  also  on  the  Colville,  Koyukuk,  Tanana  and  Copper  River 
basins.  The  coals  of  the  lower  Yukon,  and  to  a  large  extent  its 
tributaries,  belong  to  the  Cretaceous  period,  and  are  probably 
largely  bituminous  in  character,  while  the  upper  Yukon,  Tanana 
and  Copper  River  basins  contain  lignite  coals  and  are  largely 
Tertiary. 

Analyses  of  coal  from  practically  all  of  the  fields  of  Alaska 
are  given  in  the  following  table  :  (1) 

ANALYSES  OF  ALASKA  COAL. 

Mois-         Volatile         Fixed  Fuel 

District  &  Kind  of  Coal.         ture.  Matter.       Carbon.  Ash.         Sulphur.       Ratio. 

ANTHRACITE. 

1.  Bering  River,  aver- 
age of  7  analyses.  .      7.88          6.15        78.23  7.74          1.30        12.86 

2.  Matanuska  River, 

1    sample    2.55  7.08        84.32          6.05  .57        11.90 

SEMIBITUMINOUS. 

3.  Bering     River, 
coking,     average 

age  of  11  analyses      4.76        13.27        74.84          7.12          1.5l  5.68 


ig8  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


4.  Cape      Lisburne, 
average      of       3 
analyses  3  66 

17  47 

75  95 

2  92 

96 

4  46 

5.   Matanuska  River, 
coking  average  of 
16  analyses  ....      2.71 

BITUMINOUS. 
6.   Lower    Yukon, 
average       ll 
analyses   .                  4  68 

20.23 
31  14 

65.39 
56  62 

11.60 
7  56 

.57 
48 

3.23 
1  90 

SUB-BITUMINOUS. 
7.  Matanuska  River, 
average       of       4 
analyses  6  56 

35  43 

49  44 

8  57 

37 

1  40 

8.   Koyukuk     River, 
1  sample     .               4  47 

34  32 

48  26 

12  95 

1  40 

9.   Nation     River, 
1  sample  139 

40  02 

55  55 

3  04 

2  98 

1  39 

10.   Alaska     P  e  n  i  n- 
sula,    average    of 
5    analyses    ....      2.34 
ll.  Cape      Lisburne, 
average      of      1  1 
analyses   935 

38.68 
38  01 

49.75 
47  19 

9.22 
5  45 

1.07 
35 

1.30 
1  24 

12.  Anaktuvuk  River, 
1  sample  685 

36  39 

43  33 

13  38 

54 

1  20 

LIGNITE. 
13.   Port    Graham,    1 
sample  ...          16  87 

37  48 

39  12 

6  53 

39 

1  04 

14.  South  eastern 
Alaska,      average 
of   5    samples.  .  .      1.97 
15.  Wainwright  Inlet, 
1    l  sample  .    ...      10  65 

37.84 
42  99 

35.18 
42  94 

24.23 
3  42 

.57 
62 

1.02 
1   OO 

16.  Colville    River, 
l  sample  1  1.50 

30  33 

30  27 

27  90 

50 

1  00 

17.   Upper    Yukon, 
Canadian,      aver- 
age of  13  analyses   13.08 
18.  Upper    Yukon, 
Circle     Province, 
average      of       3 
analyses  10  45 

39.88 
41  81 

39.28 
40  49 

7.72 
7  27 

1.26 
1   30 

.99 
97 

19.   Upper    Yukon, 
Rampart      Prov- 
ince,  average    of 
6  analyses                1  1  42 

41  15 

36  95 

10  48 

33 

91 

20.  Seward    P  e  n  i  n- 
sula,   1   sample..    24.92 
21.   Chitistone  River, 
1  sample  ....          1  65 

38.15 

51  50 

33.58 
40  75 

3.35 
6  10 

.68 

.88 

79 

22.   Kachemak    Bay, 
average       of       6 
analyses    .    ...      19  85 

40  48 

30  99 

8  68 

35 

77 

23.   Cantwell      River, 
l   samole   .           .    13.02 

48.81 

32.40 

5.77 

16 

fifi 

COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  199 

24.  Kodi  ak  Island, 

1  sample 12.31        51.48        33.80          2.41  .17  .66 

25.  U  n  g  a     Island, 
average      of      2 

analyses 10.92        53.36        28.25          7.47          1.36  .62 

26.  Tyonek,    average 

of  4  analyses  ...      8.35        54.20        30.92          6.53  .38  .58 

27.  C  h  i  s  t  o  china 

River,  1  sample..   15.91        60.35        19.46          4.28        .32 

(1)  U.  S.  G.  S.,  Bull.  No.  314,  p.  45. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  only  a  very  small  part  of  the 
workable  coal  beds  have  been  discovered.  There  is  hardly  a 
prospector  who  penetrates  some  remote  and  unfrequented  region 
but  what  brings  back  word  of  having  seen  evidences  of  the 
occurrence  of  coal. 

It  is  evident  that  much  of  the  high-grade  coal  in  Alaska  has 
resulted  from  local  conditions,  such  as  earth  movements,  intru- 
sions of  igneous  materials  and  proximity  to  masses  of  highly 
heated  rocks,  rather  than  to  the  slower  acting  geologic 
phenomena  more  generally  responsible  for  the  production  of 
coal  under  normal  conditions.  It  is  but  natural  then  that  this 
intensive  production  of  coal  should  result  disastrously  in  its 
physical  condition,  thus  materially  reducing  its  value  in  that  the 
amount  of  small  coal  is  greatly  increased.  The  development  and 
mining  of  the  coal  has  also  been  rendered  much  more  difficult  by 
the  folding  and  faulting  of  the  beds. 

Much  of  the  bituminous  coals,  particularly  in  the  Bering 
River  and  Matanuska  fields,  is  suitable  for  coking  and  may  thus 
increase  the  value  of  such  coals  by  extending  their  use.  Should 
the  condition  of  the  coal  not  change  materially  in  depth,  which 
is  unlikely,  it  would  seem  that  to  increase  its  value  and  con- 
sequent utilization,  coking  and  briquetting  will  have  to  be 
resorted  to. 

The  production  of  coal  in  Alaska  has  amounted  to  probably 
22,727  short  tons  to  date.  A  large  part  of  this  coal  has  been  con- 
sumed locally,  although  probably  over  2,500  tons  have  been  ship- 
ped out  of  the  country  for  testing  purposes. 

The  development  of  the  coalfields  in  various  parts  of  Alaska 
will  depend  largely  upon  local  needs,  but  their  proximity  to  min- 
ing districts  will  make  possible  the  local  treatment  of  the  ores, 
thus  reducing  the  cost  of  handling  and  shipment.  The  large  de- 


200  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

posits  of  low-grade  copper  and  iron  ores,  known  to  exist  at 
points  not  easily  served  by  railroads  connecting  with  the  coast, 
might  be  worked  to  advantage  with  fuels  near  at  hand.  Those 
fields  lying  near  the  coast  or  easily  accessible  to  tide  water  could 
readily  find  a  foreign  market  provided  the  coal  is  of  such  grade 
and  in  such  condition  as  to  permit  of  competition  with  other 
available  fuels. 

Alaska  is  popularly  known  as  "the  last  frontier  of  the 
United  States,"  and  in  spite  of  the  large  amount  of  publicity  it 
has  received  during  the  past  few  years,  it  will  probably  remain  a 
territory  largely  unknown  by  the  people  of  the  States  and  poorly 
provided  for  by  the  Government.  The  welfare  of  her  people,  now 
numbering  nearly  65,000,  has  apparently  been  hardly  considered, 
with  the  result  that  the  growth  in  permanent  population  has 
remained  practically  stationary  for  several  years.  In  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  internal  affairs  of  this  territory  the  Govern- 
ment has  not  exercised  a  liberal  and  progressive  policy,  but 
rather  an  obstruction  policy.  The  coal  lands  have  been  with- 
drawn from  entry,  the  forests  are  being  conserved  by  the  imposi- 
tion of  well-nigh  impossible  regulations,  while  the  laws  govern- 
ing mining  claims  (placer  and  lode)  are  inadequately  known  and 
administered.  It  is  a  country  little  known  and  so  far  removed 
from  the  seat  of  Government  that  accurate  information  regard- 
ing and  interest  in  its  pressing  needs  are  largely  wanting.  Un- 
fortunately for  Alaska,  the  development  that  was  well  under  way 
was  begun  in  an  extremely  inopportune  time,  being  checked  and 
throttled  by  the  radical  conservative  policy  of  a  few  years  ago. 
Alaska  stands  in  urgent  need  of  an  application  of  the  "square- 
deal"  idea,  which  is  now  being  strenuously  advocated  by  her  fair- 
minded  people  and  by  the  friends  of  good  government. 

The  home-rule  form  of  government  recently  inaugurated 
puts  the  Alaskan  Legislature  in  the  position  of  an  advisory 
board  with  powers  of  recommendation  only.  The  establishment 
of  a  commission  with  administrative  powers  similar  to  those  of 
the  Panama  Canal  Commission  has  been  advocated.  Alaska  is, 
however,  a  large  territory,  over  twice  the  size  of  Texas,  of  rugged 
surface  and  exceedingly  irregular  outline,  which  renders  the 
administration  of  law  difficult  and  unsatisfactory,  owing  to  lack 
of  means  of  communication  and  transportation.  Further,  Alaska 
is  a  new  country,  not  only  with  respect  to  the  development  of 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  201 

her  resources,  but  new  geologically,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  vast 
areas  of  mountainous  country  and  rock-strewn  plains,  covered  in 
turn  with  moss  and  sparse  growths  of  spruce,  willow  and  alder. 
The  problems  that  confront  those  responsible  for  her  develop- 
ment are  largely  for  the  engineer  to  solve ;  as,  providing  means  of 
transportation  by  land  and  water,  developing  the  mines,  main- 
taining the  fisheries,  building  dock  and  coaling  stations,  etc.  The 
success  of  various  engineering  commissions  has  probably  been 
largely  responsible  for  the  suggestion  of  a  similar  commission  to 
take  charge  of  the  development  of  Alaska. 

Following  the  development  of  the  mineral  and  fuel  resources 
will  come  the  inevitable  demand  for  agricultural  development. 
While  the  areas  suitable  for  agricultural  purposes  are  limited,  due 
to  excessive  rainfall  in  certain  localities  and  a  universally  pro- 
tracted winter  season,  preventing  the  proper  curing  and  matur- 
ing of  certain  cereals,  yet  there  are  large  areas  where  such  con- 
ditions exist  only  in  part.  There  is,  however,  much  land  suitable 
for  grazing,  which  may  ultimately  solve  some  problems  now  vex- 
ing the  people  of  the  United  States,  such,  for  instance,  as  that  of 
meat  supply. 

Transportation  by  water  and  rail  is  the  crying  need  of 
Alaska.  Roads,  both  wagon  and  rail,  are  of  infrequent  occur- 
rence and  very  inadequate,  and  even  the  small  beginnings  made 
have  been  obtained  largely  through  the  subterfuge  that  they 
were  to  be  used  for  military  purposes.  As  practically  no  coal  has 
been  shipped  from  Alaska,  and  there  is  no  immediate  prospect  of 
the  opening  of  the  fields  and  the  production  of  an  output  in  ex- 
cess of  local  consumption,  no  well-defined  and  organized  action 
has  been  taken  looking  toward  the  handling  and  marketing  of  the 
coals  when  operations  actively  begin. 

The  marketing  of  Alaskan  coal,  owing  to  conditions  peculiar 
to  the  location  of  the  fields,  will  prove  a  difficult  task  in  many 
respects.  Many  of  the  harbors  are  icebound  for  several  months 
each  year.  The  Bering  River  often  discharges  large  quantities  of 
ice  into  Controller  Bay,  particularly  during  severe  winters.  The 
effect  of  ice-floes  upon  long  lines  of  track  made  necessary  by  ex- 
tensive shoaling,  which  are  supported  by  piling  and  connect  the 
shore  with  the  docks,  would  be  severe.  On  Cook  Inlet,  practi- 
cally all  harbors  above  60  degrees  north  latitude  are  blocked  with 


202  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

ice  for  two  or  three  months  during  the  middle  of  winter.  Of  the 
many  excellent  harbors  on  the  Pacific  coastline  few  are  suitable 
for  the  trans-shipment  of  coal,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
inaccessible  from  the  interior,  as  well  as  not  desirable  for  dock 
construction  by  reason  of  high  tides,  ice  and  extended  shoaling. 

At  present  the  coal  lands  of  Alaska  lie  untouched ;  un- 
limited supplies  of  fuel  needed  for  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  country  and  withheld  from  its  proper  and 
legitimate  use,  all  because  of  an  obstructive  policy  rather  than  a 
constructive  policy,  that  is  forced  upon  this  far  distant  territory. 

British  Columbia  and  Australia  coals  are  being  sold  in 
Alaska  for  as  much  as  $20  per  ton  in  the  more  remote  parts, 
which  includes  the  duty  levied  upon  it  by  the  Government, 
besides  an  additional  Territorial  tax  of  lOc  per  ton.  Verily  this 
is  "carrying  coals  to  Newcastle,"  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  is 
not  appreciated  by  those  who  are  striving  to  develop  the 
country. 

Too  great  hopes  and  expectations  must  not,  however,  be 
placed  on  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  use  the  coal  for  home 
consumption,  for  unless  there  is  some  means  of  regulating  the 
price  it  is  doubtful  if  any  material  relief  will  be  experienced. 
When  the  coal  becomes  available,  even  for  the  home  market,  it 
will  have  to  be  sold  in  competition  with  foreign  coals.  It  is 
claimed  that  under  stress  of  competition  British  Columbia  coal 
could  be  sold  in  Alaska  as  low  as  $5.00  per  ton,  which  is  un- 
doubtedly as  cheap  as  the  Alaskan  coals  could  be  placed  on  the 
market.  This  could,  however,  only  be  possible  when  the  de- 
mand has  reached  such  proportions  that  it  could  be  purchased 
by  the  cargo  of  4000  tons.  Norwegian  and  Scandinavian  bot- 
toms could  be  secured  to  handle  the  coal  by  the  cargo  at  a  cost 
of  $1.50  per  ton.  The  contention  is  not  that  this  will  be  done, 
but  that  it  could  be  done. 

There  are  advocates  for  and  against  Government  owned  and 
operated  railroads  and  the  leasing  of  coal  lands.  Of  the  former 
it  may  be  said  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  private  capital  will 
be  overanxious  to  go  to  any  great  expense  to  provide  trans- 
portation for  the  development  of  the  coalfields  and  the  handling 
of  the  coal  under  the  present  conditions  of  the  world's  market. 
With  the  extensive  and  constantly  growing  use  of  oil  for  fuel 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA  203 

purposes  the  market  for  Alaskan  coal  outside  that  territory  is 
uncertain  and  problematic. 

There  are  at  present  but  two  railroads  in  Alaska  and  they 
do  not  connect  with  the  coalfields,  although  it  was  the  original 
intention  that  they  should,  and  that  they  will  ultimately  is  not 
doubted.  The  Copper  River  and  Northwestern  Railway,  con- 
necting Cordova  with  Chitina  and  Kennicott,  is  199  miles  in 
length,  while  the  proposed  extension  from  Chitina  to  Fairbanks 
is  240  miles.  This  railway  could  readily  connect  with  the  Bering 
River  coalfields  by  a  branch  line  to  Katalla,  thence  into  the  coal- 
fields, or  by  a  more  direct  line  up  the  Copper  and  Martin  rivers. 
The  former  connection  would  have  a  length  of  about  65  miles, 
while  the  latter  would  be  50  miles,  with  a  maximum  grade  of  0.3 
per  cent.  Should  Katalla,  or  some  point  on  Controller  Bay,  be 
finally  chosen  as  the  termini,  the  haul  would  not  exceed  25  miles 
from  the  coalfield  to  the  seaboard. 

The  Alaska  Northern,  formerly  the  Alaska  Central  Rail- 
way, extends  from  Seward  on  Resurrection  Bay  to  Kern  Creek 
on  Turnagain  Arm,  a  distance  of  71  miles.  In  this  distance,  two 
summits  were  traversed:  the  first,  encountered  12  miles  north  of 
Seward,  has  an  elevation  of  600  feet ;  the  second,  33  miles  further 
on,  has  an  elevation  of  1060  feet.  The  grade  from  tide  water  to 
and  over  the  two  summits  is  2  per  cent.  The  proposed  extension 
of  this  line  to  the  coalfields  on  the  Matanuska  River,  a  distance 
of  about  100  miles,  would  have  a  grade  of  2.2  per  cent. 

The  railways  mentioned  above  have  as  their  coastal  terminals 
most  excellent  harbors,  not  only  having  deep  water  and  ample 
room,  but  could  readily  be  fortified  and  mined.  Both  lines  are 
standard-gauge  and  have  been  built  under  adverse  conditions; 
such  as  forming  a  road-bed  along  the  walls  of  precipitous  canons 
requiring  a  vast  amount  of  difficult  excavation,  the  crossing  of 
divides,  traversing  extensive  gravel  flats  through  which  swift 
glacial  streams  are  constantly  cutting  new  channels,  protection 
against  earth  and  snow  slides,  and  the  necessity  of  considerable 
tunneling,  which  have  made  permanent  railroad  building  both 
difficult  and  expensive. 

The  leasing  system  is  not  altogether  popular  in  Alaska,  but 
could  be  made  more  popular  by  the  elimination  of  some  of  the 
objectionable  features.  The  principal  objection  to  the  leasing 


204  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

system,  and  one  that  will  always  conflict  with  the  conservation 
policy,  is  that  of  the  limited  acreage  of  the  leasehold.  Small 
operations  are  both  inefficient  and  uneconomical.  Large  opera- 
tions require  large  sums  for  equipment  and  consequently  large 
holdings  to  guarantee  adequate  returns  and  insure  permanency 
of  investment.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  an  allotment  of  320  acres 
could  not  be  considered  if  the  coal  lands  are  to  be  operated  com- 
petitively. 

If  a  leasing  system  is  adopted,  it  should  by  all  means  be  so 
framed  as  to  encourage  large  corporations  entering  the  field, 
thus  ensuring  efficiency  in  operation  and  reduction  of  waste. 
Government  ownership  of  mines  and  their  operation  by  a  com- 
mission would  undoubtedly  mean  efficient  work  and  would  con- 
form to  the  broadest  ideas  of  the  conservation  policy,  but  for 
many  it  savors  too  much  of  socialism. 

Regardless  of  the  method  finally  adopted  for  the  disposition 
of  the  coal  laws  of  Alaska,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the 
working  of  the  coal  should  be  carried  on  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  the  Federal  Government,  which,  if  further  extended  to 
the  transportation  of  the  coal  to  tide  water,  would  eliminate 
many  of  the  evils  now  existing  in  various  mining  regions  of  the 
United  States. 

It  will  probably  be  some  time  before  the  coals  mined  in 
Alaska  can  compete  in  the  world's  market  with  the  product  of 
other  fields,  which  are  more  advantageously  situated,  although 
when  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  their  proper  utilization  has 
been  accomplished  a  market  will  undoubtedly  be  open  for  them. 
However,  if  a  constant  supply  of  fuel  can  be  assured  at  reason- 
able rates  to  the  home  market,  the  development  of  the  vast 
resources  of  Alaska  will  be  both  sure  and  rapid,  which  will 
attract  people  and  capital  and  will  thus  build  up  a  permanent 
population  and  give  permanency  to  investment. 


COAL  RESOURCES  OF  ALASKA 


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The  Alaskan  Situation. 

FALCON   JOSLIN, 
FAIRBANKS,  ALASKA. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  work  of  the  Alaska  Committee  of 
the  American  Mining  Congress  during  the  past  year  has  been  con- 
fined (1)  to  an  effort  to  bring  about  the  opening  of  the  coal  lands 
in  Alaska,  and  (2)  to  securing  the  building  of  railroads  there. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  Booher  Bill  for  the  leasing  of  coal  lands 
in  Alaska,  in  the  House  Committee  on  Territories  in  the  spring  of 
1912,  it  seemed  quite  hopeless  to  devote  any  further  effort  toward 
securing  the  passage  of  a  coal  land  leasing  bill.  It  became  clearly 
evident  then  that  the  conservationists  and  those  who  are  responsible 
for  the  abrogation  of  the  existing  law  for  the  sale  of  coal  lands  in 
Alaska  cannot  be  depended  upon  to  either  draft  or  agree  to  any 
form  of  a  reasonable  coal  leasing  law.  After  many  long  and  tedious 
interviews,  it  appeared  that  the  kind  of  leasing  law  they  had  in 
mind  was  nothing  more  than  one  which  would  leave  in  the  hands 
of  the  bureaus  at  Washington  complete  authority  over  the  title 
of  the  property,  the  method  of  operation  and  the  capital  which  might 
be  invested  in  coal  mining  enterprises.  It  seemed  to  your  Com- 
mittee that  this  attitude,  if  written  into  a  leasing  law,  would  render 
it  totally  useless,  for  no  capital  could  be  induced  to  go  into  the 
somewhat  hazardous  business  of  coal  mining,  subject  always  to  the 
autocratic  and  capricious  power  of  a  distant  bureau.  The  conser- 
vation element  in  the  departments  and  in  Congress  are  equally 
obstinate  in  opposing  any  measure  intended  to  revoke  or  modify  the 
existing  withdrawal  orders. 

Your  Committee  very  firmly  believe  that  the  order  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  of  November  12,  1906,  withdrawing  the  coal  lands 
in  Alaska  from  sale,  was  wholly  illegal  and  without  authority. 
They  are  also  firm  in  the  belief  that  the  order  of  President  Taft, 
of  July  1,  1910,  attempting  to  ratify  it,  is  equally  invalid.  Neither 
of  these  orders  have  ever  been  reviewed  by  any  Court,  nor  has  any 
case  ever  been  decided  in  the  Land  Office  or  the  Department  of 
the  Interior,  directly  involving  the  validity  of  these  presidential 


THE  ALASKAN  SITUATION  207 

orders.  The  orders  originated  in  and  were  recommended  from  the 
Department  of  the  Interior.  It  is  quite  impossible  for  that  Depart- 
ment to  give  the  question  of  their  validity  impartial  and  judicial 
consideration. 

Of  the  thousand  or  more  entries  of  coal  lands  made  previous 
to  the  order  of  withdrawal  of  1906,  the  Land  Office  or  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  upon  one  pretext  or  another,  has  cancelled 
nearly  all  of  them.  In  fact,  only  two  small,  isolated  claims  out  of 
the  entire  number  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  patents.  These 
two  claims  are  wholly  unimportant  and  quite  useless  for  developing 
a  coal  supply  for  the  Territory.  However,  the  fact  that  there 
were  two  claims  out  of  more  than  eleven  hundred  filed,  against 
which  the  utmost  energies  and  industry  of  the  swarm  of  special 
agents  could  find  no  objection,  gives  some  hope.  If  the  law  were 
not  abrogated  by  the  President's  withdrawal  orders,  other  men 
could  follow  literally  in  the  foot-steps  of  these  two  who  have  suc- 
ceeded and,  in  time,  also  acquire  coal  lands  in  quantity  sufficient 
to  provide  a  fuel  supply  for  the  Territory.  These  two  entries,  how- 
ever, required  several  years  of  investigation  before  it  could  be  dis- 
covered that  they  were  valid  and  lawful  claims.  More  than  two 
hundred  other  entrymen,  who  were  endeavoring  to  purchase  coal 
lands  in  accordance  with  the  law,  filed  their  applications  and  paid 
the  purchase  money  for  the  land  to  the  Government  to  the  amount 
of  over  $368,000.  In  a  large  number  of  these  cases — practically  all 
of  them— the  Land  Office  has  cancelled  the  entries  for  irregularities 
in  the  method  of  application  or  for  other  alleged  defects  and  refused 
the  applicants  patents  for  the  land,  at  the  same  time  keeping  their 
money.  If  the  purpose  and  intention  of  the  law  is  to  sell  the  coal 
land  at  $10.00  an  acre,  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  then  it  would  seem  that 
these  applicants  should  either  be  permitted  to  amend  their  applica- 
tions or  to  begin  anew  in  their  efforts  to  purchase  the  land  and  so 
correct  the  mistakes  and  errors  that  may  have  been  made  in  their 
first  effort.  Or  if  any  applicants  should  decide  not  to  try  further 
to  acquire  the  land,  then  they  should  have  back  the  moneys  they 
have  paid.  This  would  appear  to  be  only  common  honesty.  The 
land  has  been  in  no  wise  damaged  by  their  efforts  to  buy  it — on  the 
contrary  it  has  been  greatly  improved. 

None  of  these  claimants  have  ever  had  an  opportunity  of  try- 
ing their  right  to  purchase  the  land  under  the  law  in  the  Courts  of 
the  land.  It  has  been  held  repeatedly  by  the  Supreme  Court  that 


208  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

in  matters  relating  to  the  public  domain,  the  Land  Office  and  the 
Interior  Department  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  questions 
arising  between  applicants  and  the  Government. 

This  same  Department  in  all  cases  was  the  complainant  against 
the  entrymen  seeking  to  purchase  the  land,  and  sent  its  detectives, 
under  the  name  of  "special  agents,"  to  investigate  the  facts,  and 
brought  those  same  detectives  as  witnesses  against  the  claimants. 
Law  officers  of  the  same  Department  sat  in  judgment  upon  the 
cases.  There  was  no  judicial  consideration  of  the  cases  at  all. 
The  matter  was  so  one-sided  as  to  be  grotesque.  It  is  like  the  comic 
opera  presentation  of  Chinese  justice.  Every  element  of  judicial 
consideration  is  absent,  except  the  form  of  a  trial.  The  Department 
of  the  Interior  is  the  complainant,  the  prosecutor,  supplies  the 
witnesses,  and  acts  as  judge  in  its  own  case.  The  results  are  as 
before  stated:  The  claimants  fail  to  get  the  land  and  lose  their 
purchase  money  also.  They  also  lose  all  their  improvements  and 
the  development  work  done  upon  the  property,  amounting  generally 
to  much  more  than  the  purchase  price.  Apparently  the  Land  Office 
became  conscious  that  there  was  something  improper  in  the  same 
bureau  acting  as  prosecutor,  witness  and  judge  in  coal  cases,  for 
they  issued  a  regulation  providing  that  the  officer  who  should  decide 
the  case  should  not  read  the  report  of  the  special  agent  who  investi- 
gated it !  The  innocence  and  simplicity  of  this  regulation  is  charm- 
ing. Of  what  possible  purpose  is  the  report  of  the  special  agent, 
unless  it  is  to  be  used  in  deciding  upon  the  validity  of  the  entry? 
It  was  proven  in  the  hearings  that  this  regulation  is  disregarded  in 
practice  and  the  reports  are  read  by  the  deciding  officer. 

In  order  to  correct  this  situation,  the  Delegate  for  Alaska  intro- 
duced a  bill  providing  in  effect  that  where  any  citizen  offered  an 
application  to  purchase  coal  land  in  Alaska,  and  any  special  agent 
or  officer  of  the  Land  Department  filed  a  protest  against  his  appli- 
cation, either  party  should  be  entitled  to  begin  suit  in  a  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction  in  the  district  where  the  land  lies,  to  try  out 
the  question  of  right  in  the  ordinary  way  of  judicial  determination, 
with  the  right  of  appeal  to  either  party.  This  seemed  to  be  a 
most  reasonable  bill.  In  the  third  section  of  the  Act  of  Congress, 
approved  April  28,  1904,  it  is  expressly  provided  that  if  any  person 
asserts  any  adverse  interest  or  claim  to  a  tract  of  coal  land  which 
any  other  person  is  seeking  to  purchase,  he  shall  file  an  adverse 
claim  in  the  Land  Office  where  the  application  is  pending,  and  within 


THE  ALASKAN  SITUATION  209 

sixty  days  after  the  filing  of  such  adverse  claim  shall  begin  an 
action  to  quiet  the  title,  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  within 
the  district  of  Alaska.  Therefore,  as  between  man  and  man  in 
Alaska,  the  courts  are  the  tribunal  designated  to  try  out  the  ques- 
tion of  right.  The  bill  proposed  was  intended  simply  to  extend  this 
right  of  trial  in  court  to  cases  between  a  citizen  and  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Your  Committee  heartily  favored  this  bill.  They  believe  that 
the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  last  resort  in  cases  coming  before 
them  under  this  Act  would  establish  precedents  which  would  govern 
the  Land  Office  in  its  decisions  upon  all  applications  to  purchase 
coal  lands.  That  it  would  establish  the  law  and  give  confidence  to 
those  who  might  hereafter  seek  to  purchase  coal  land,  and  assure 
them  that  they  would  have  a  fair  and  judicial  trial  in  case  of  a  dis- 
pute. Extensive  hearings  were  held  on  this  bill  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  Territories  of  the  House  of  Representatives  early  in 
the  year  of  1913.  It  seemed  to  your  Committee  that  no  one  could 
object  to  so  plain  and  reasonable  a  provision,  but  the  then  Honor- 
able Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Mr.  Walter  L.  Fisher,  appeared 
before  the  Committee  and  at  great  length  argued  strenuously  against 
the  provisions  of  the  bill.  The  principal  point  of  his  objection  was 
that  such  a  law  would  take  the  administration  of  the  public  domain 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Interior  Department  and  place  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  courts.  This,  of  course,  was  not  contemplated  by  the 
bill,  nor  would  it  have  had  any  such  effect.  The  vast  majorrty  of 
all  applications  to  purchase  coal  lands  would  never  be  contested  and 
therefore  no  occasion  would  arise  for  bringing  an  action  in  the 
courts.  It  would  have  had  the  salutary  effect  of  preventing  the 
utterly  arbitrary  and  autocratic  action  such  as  has  characterized 
the  Interior  Department  in  its  dealings  with  the  Alaska  coal  land 
matters.  During  the  hearings,  a  strong  opinion  was  apparently 
developed  among  members  of  the  Committee,  in  favor  of  allowing 
an  appeal  to  the  courts  in  such  cases  as  may  have  been  finally 
decided  by  the  Interior  Department  instead  of  a  trial  de  novo.  The 
bill  was  accordingly  amended  so  as  to  allow  an  appeal  from  final 
decision  of  the  Interior  Department  to  the  courts,  in  such  cases, 
while  at  the  same  time  allowing  an  original  right  of  action  in  the 
local  courts  to  an  applicant,  forthwith  upon  protest  being  filed 
against  the  entry.  The  majority  of  the  Committee  apparently 
became  convinced  of  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  bill,  but  the 
Congress  expired  on  the  4th  of  March  and  no  report,  favorable  or 


210  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

otherwise,  was  rendered  upon  it.    The  bill  has  not  been  reintroduced 
up  to  this  time. 

If  this  measure  could  become  a  law,  it  would  enable  at  once 
any  citizen  to  test  the  validity  of  the  withdrawal  orders  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  and  President  Taft,  by  the  simple  process  of  making 
an  application  to  purchase  a  tract  of  coal  land  and  upon  its  rejec- 
tion by  the  local  Land  Office,  beginning  a  suit  forthwith  in  the  locai 
court  to  try  out  the  question.  In  my  judgment,  this  is  the  soundest 
expedient  yet  proposed  for  settling  the  Alaska  coal  land  question. 
While  it  would  be  slow,  it  would  surely  grind  out  the  justice  of  the 
matter  and  would  no  doubt  result  in  the  recovery  of  most,  if  not  all, 
of  the  claims  or  of  the  money  out  of  which  Alaska  coal  claimants 
have  been  defrauded. 

The  Railroad  Situation. 

As  a  result  of  the  introduction  by  the  Senate  Committee  on 
Territories  in  April,  1912,  of  the  bill  prepared  by  your  Committee 
for  the  construction  of  one  thousand  miles  of  railroad  in  Alaska, 
an  Alaskan  Railroad  Commission  was  appointed  to  investigate  the 
railroad  situation  in  Alaska  and  make  its  recommendations  as  to 
routes  and  other  matters  connected  therewith.  A  very  excellent 
commission  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Major  J.  J.  Morrow, 
of  the  U.  S.  Army  Engineers;  Dr.  Alfred  H.  Brooks,  of  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey;  Lieut.  Commander  Leonard  M.  Cox,  of  the  U. 
S.  Navy,  and  Mr.  Colin  M.  Ingersoll,  civil  engineer.  This  com- 
mission prepared  and  filed,  in  January,  1913,  an  excellent  and 
comprehensive  report  upon  the  whole  subject.  They  recommended 
the  construction  of  one  line  of  railroad  extending  from  Chitina  to 
Fairbanks,  with  a  branch  into  the  Bering  river  coal  field,  and  a  line 
extending  from  seaward  into  head  of  navigation  on  the  Kuskokwim 
river,  with  a  branch  into  the  Matanuska  coal  field,  the  total  aggre- 
gating some  seven  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of  track.  Their 
estimated  cost  for  this  mileage  was  about  thirty-five  million  dollars. 

One  of  the  principal  merits  of  the  bill  which  was  introduced 
in  April,  1912,  as  it  seemed  to  your  Committee,  was  that  it  did  not 
specify  any  route  upon  which  railroads  were  to  be  built,  but  left 
the  selection  of  routes  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the  commission 
provided  for  in  the  bill,  acting  under  the  direction  of  the  President. 
It  was  foreseen  by  your  Committee,  and  they  tried  to  make  it  appear 
to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Territories,  at  the  hearings,  that  the 
designation  of  any  route  for  a  railroad  would  immediately  provoke 


THE  ALASKAN  SITUATION  211 

controversy.  This  prediction  proved  correct,  for  no  sooner  had 
the  Railroad  Commission's  report  been  filed  than  immediately  vio- 
lent criticisms  and  opposition  to  it  arose  from  interests  who  desired 
the  railroad  lines  constructed  on  different  routes  from  those  rec- 
ommended. 

The  Delegate  from  Alaska,  in  conference  with  members  of 
your  Committee  and  others  interested  in  the  subject,  redrafted  the 
bill  which  had  been  introduced  in  April,  1912,  holding  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  omitting  all  reference  to  any  route,  and  introduced  the  bill 
at  the  opening  of  the  extra  session  of  Congress  in  April,  1913. 
The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Chamberlain,  of 
Oregon.  This  bill  differed  from  the  bill  prepared  by  your  Com- 
mittee the  year  before  in  that  it  omitted  all  reference  to  the  crea- 
tion of  a  commission  for  the  construction  of  railroads  and  left  the 
entire  authority  with  the  President.  This  seemed  to  be  an  imma- 
terial variation,  because  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  President  must 
either  appoint  a  commission,  an  engineer,  or  some  other  agency  to 
carry  out  the  work,  and  your  Committee  therefore  decided  to  give 
the  bill  its  support.  I  and  other  members  of  your  Committee 
accordingly  remained  in  Washington  for  several  months  to  help 
advance  the  measure.  Hearings  were  had  upon  the  bill  before 
the  Territories  Committees  of  both  House  and  Senate.  It  is  gratify- 
ing to  report  that  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
have  warmly  supported  the  bill,  and  that  the  Committees  of  both 
House  and  Senate  have  favorably  reported  it  for  passage.  The 
bill  reported  to  the  Senate  varies  considerably  from  the  form  as 
introduced,  but  is  in  substance  the  same.  It  is  not  expected  that 
the  measure  will  be  taken  up  for  consideration  before  the  regular 
session  of  Congress,  which  assembles  on  the  first  Monday  in  Decem- 
ber, 1913.  Although  there  will  be  strong  opposition  to  the  bill  in 
the  Senate,  it  is  confidently  expected  that  the  measure  will  become 
a  law  before  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress  that  meets  in  Decem- 
ber next. 

As  soon  as  the  construction  of  these  railroads  is  begun  by  the 
Government,  it  is  bound  to  appear  to  the  engineer  in  charge  of  the 
wort  that  the  railroads  must  have  coal  for  use  in  their  locomotives 
and  to  be  financially  successful  must  be  able  to  obtain  traffic  in 
the  haulage  and  distribution  of  coal.  As  nothing  now  stands 
between  the  opening-up  of  the  Alaska  coal  fields  except  the  will 
of  the  Executive,  it  seems  altogether  probable  that  in  solving  the 


212  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

question  of  obtaining  railroads  for  Alaska,  the  solution  of  the  coal 
question  will  also  be  found  because  the  President  of  the  United 
States  can  unlock  the  coal  fields  of  Alaska  with  the  stroke  of  his  pen. 
All  that  is  necessary  is  to  issue  an  order  declaring  that  the  orders 
of  President  Roosevelt  and  President  Taft,  heretofore  withdrawing 
all  the  coal  lands  of  Alaska,  are  cancelled. 

To  be  sure,  even  if  such  an  order  were  issued,  there  would  still 
be  the  dread  and  uncertainty  that  some  future  Executive  may  again 
withdraw  the  land  and  disregard  the  rights  initiated  before  the  with- 
drawal. To  guard  against  this  there  should  by  all  means  be  recourse 
to  the  courts  such  as  I  have  heretofore  indicated.  The  right  to 
purchase  coal  land  under  the  law  could  then  not  be  capriciously 
taken  away  or  restored  at  the  will  of  the  Executive. 

The  development  of  Alaska  has  been  restrained  for  more  than 
ten  years.  In  the  decade  ending  1910,  the  increase  of  population 
for  the  whole  territory  was  less  than  one  thousand.  With  the  con- 
struction of  the  proposed  railroads,  it  is  possible  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  territory  may  bound  forward  the  more  rapidly  because 
of  this  long  restraint.  At  any  rate,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  the 
trade  of  the  territory  which  now  aggregates  more  than  Sixty  Mil- 
lion Dollars  per  year  may  be  expected  to  double  and  quadruple 
within  a  short  time  after  the  completion  of  the  proposed  railroads. 


Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 

CHARLES  E.  VAN  BARNEVELD, 
SAN    FRANCISCO,    CALIFORNIA. 


Someone  has  aptly  called  the  Panama  Canal  "The  Greatest 
Liberty  ever  taken  with  nature."  While  we  as  a  nation  did  not 
orginate  the  project,  its  successful  completion  is  due  to  American 
enterprise  and  American  engineering  skill.  The  Nation  is  justly 
proud  of  this  achievement  and  proposes  to  celebrate  it  by  holding 
an  International  Exposition  in  San  Francisco  in  1915.  I  wish  to 
lay  special  emphasis  on  the  word  International.  Because  of  its 
location,  the  Exposition  is  often  spoken  of  and  more  often  thought 
of  as  California's  Exposition.  In  one  sense,  California  is  the  host; 
in  a  larger  sense,  however,  the  Nation  is  the  host.  The  Nation 
has  issued  the  call  and  has  invited  world-wide  participation.  Cana- 
dian, Australian,  Asiatic,  and  South  American  participation  is  as- 
sured on  a  large  scale.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Europe.  While 
two  important  European  Nations  have  officially  declined  to  partici- 
pate for  the  present,  we  are  assured  that  their  industries  will  be 
well  represented. 

While  the  majority  wish  it  success  and  hope  to  take  it  in,  a 
great  many  people  do  not  seem  to  realize  that  practically  everyone 
who  occupies  a  positon  of  any  responsibility  in  American  profes- 
sional and  industrial  life  owes  some  direct  thought  and  attention 
to  this  Exposition  now.  This  is  our  Exposition,  and  its  success 
is  going  to  depend  on  each  industry  discharging  its  duty  as  host 
by  properly  representing  its  activities.  This  is  one  side  of  the  ques- 
tion— the  patriotic  side.  The  Exposition  makes  a  direct  appeal  to 
your  individual  pride — to  your  pride  of  industry,  to  your  State 
and  National  pride,  all  of  which  may  be  summed  up  in  the  one 
word — patriotism. 

There  is  another  side.  While  business  responds  freely  to  all 
sorts  of  calls  on  the  plea  of  the  common  good  and  of  public  spirit, 
it  usually  demands  good  business  reasons  for  the  expenditure  of 
time,  thought,  and  money  which  does  not  promise  direct  and 
definite  returns.  The  mining  man  is  apt  to  argue  that  he  can 


214  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

see  why  the  manufacturer,  who  has  a  direct  interest  in  the  com- 
petitive retail  trade,  might  consider  it  good  business  to  exhibit ; 
but  the  mine  owner,  he  says,  does  not  have  this  commercial  incentive 
and  therefore  he  asks :  Why  should  I  make  an  exhibit  ? 

It  has  interested  me  greatly  to  note  in  the  corner  of  the  official 
call  of  the  Mining  Congress  this  statement  regarding  mining:  "It 
is  the  one  indispensable  industry;  through  co-operation  only  can 
its  importance  command  recognition  and  the  best  results  be  accom- 
plished." This  was  followed  by  the  invitation,  "Come,  let  us  reason 
together/'  The  Exposition  offers  you  an  opportunity  to  reason 
effectively  with  the  public,  with  a  select  and  highly  influential 
portion  of  the  public — the  thinking  public — in  a  way  that  will  make 
a  lasting  impression.  This  Exposition  will  be  a  record  of  the 
Jiistory  of  the  world's  progress  in  all  the  arts  and  industries.  Its 
exhibits,  gathered  from  all  over  the  world,  will  tell  the  casual 
.observer,  the  student,  the  thinker,  by  object-lessons  instead  of  by 
•words,  what  mankind  is,  does,  and  seeks  to  do.  It  will  be  a  living 
picture  illustrating  and  interpreting  the  cold  and  bare  statistics 
which,  without  such  interpretation,  are  incomprehensible  and  mean- 
ingless to  the  average  mind. 

The  mining  industry  of  the  country  is  not  flourishing.  Among 
the  basic  reasons  for  this  is  public  misinformation  and  mistrust. 
One  of  the  greatest  assets  an  industry  can  have  is  public  confidence, 
for  that  means  public  sympathy  and  co-operation.  We  all  recog- 
nize, in  a  general  way,  the  importance  of  education ;  it  is  the  greatest 
remedy  for  prejudice,  superstition,  and  ignorance;  it  makes  for 
greater  all-around  efficiency.  A  well-planned  exposition  is  of  in- 
calculable value  as  an  educator  of  the  public  mind,  and  no  industry 
is  in  greater  need  of  this  service  to-day  than  mining.  Many 
important  questions  in  which  the  miner  is  vitally  interested  are 
pressing  for  settlement.  The  public  is  taking  an  increasingly 
active  part  in  forcing  these  settlements.  When  not  blinded  by 
prejudice  and  ignorance,  the  public  is  essentially  fair-minded;  it 
only  needs  to  be  educated.  You  have  before  you  now  an  oppor- 
tunity which  probably  will  not  recur  for  a  decade  to  give  the  public 
an  insight  into  the  importance,  the  stability,  and  solidity  of  your 
industry,  its  legitimate  speculative  and  investment  features,  your 
need  of  capital,  of  fair  treatment,  of  wise  legislation,  of  public 
support  and  co-operation.  Surely  this  is  sufficient  commercial  in- 
centive : 


PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION  215 

Every  mining  man  should  see  in  this  Exposition  an  opportunity 
for  some  broadcast  sowing.  The  higher  he  has  risen  in  his  pro- 
fession, the  more  important  the  enterprise  he  owns,  directs,  or  is 
associated  with,  the  greater  will  his  opportunity  be.  To  approve 
the  sentiment  that  the  industry  should  be  properly  represented  is 
only  the  first  step.  While  the  result  will  be  collective,  the  respon- 
sibility is  individual.  If  each  man  will  ask  himself,  What  can 
I  do  individually?  What  can  I  do  to  interest  my  company,  my 
clients?  What  can  I  do  to  interview  my  superiors,  my  subordi- 
nates? And  having  asked  and  thought,  will  then  set  about  doing 
it,  we  will  have  a  mining  and  metallurgical  exhibit  worthy  of  the 
industry. 

The  citizens  of  California  in  providing  for  this  Exposition 
have  raised  seventeen  and  a  half  million  dollars.  This  sum  is 
being  wisely  expended  in  preparation  of  the  site,  in  the  erection 
and  equipment  of  the  Exposition  Palaces,  and  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  Division  of  Exhibits.  The  Director  of  Exhibits  and  his  staff 
will  be  in  readiness  to  advise  you,  to  receive  and  intelligently  dis- 
play the  Nation's  contributions  towards  this  celebration.  Beyond 
that,  it  must  be  clear  to  you  that  the  responsibility  for  a  successful 
Exposition  lies  with  professional  and  industrial  America. 


Gold  Mining  in  Georgia. 

W.    H.    FLUKER, 
THOMSON,    GA. 


Gold  was  discovered  in  Georgia  in  1823.  Almost  immediately 
this  State  became  the  principal  source  of  the  gold  supply  in  the 
United  States,  remaining  so  until  several  years  after  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California. 

A  branch  of  the  United  States  Mint  was  established  at  Dah- 
lonega  in  1838,  and  was  operated  until  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War.  The  reports  of  the  United  States  Treasury  Department 
show  that  $6,115,569  in  gold  was  coined  at  this  mint.  It  is  a  fact, 
however,  that  during  this  period  a  considerable  amount  of  bullion 
was  shipped  to  the  mints  at  Philadelphia  and  other  places,  so  the 
actual  production  is  much  greater  than  these  figures  show.  The 
total  production  of  gold  in  Georgia,  from  the  earliest  discovery  to 
the  present  day  is  estimated  at  a  very  little  less  than  $17,000,000. 

While  this  contribution  to  the  nation's  wealth  is  relatively 
small,  it  has  been  made  under  the  most  adverse  conditions  and 
without  even  thoroughly  scratching  the  surface. 

In  June,  1§31,  Governor  Gilmer  issued  a  proclamation  pro- 
hibiting gold  mining  in  Georgia ;  an  armed  force  was  sent  to  North 
Georgia  to  enforce  this  proclamation.  Even  in  the  face  of  this, 
bullion  to  the  amount  of  over  $200,000  was  deposited  in  the 
United  States  Treasury  during  the  year  from  Georgia.  Matters 
improved  very  little  for  the  next  several  years,  and  it  may  be 
imagined  that  such  a  condition  was  very  unsatisfactory  to  the 
miners.  Consequently,  when  gold  was  discovered  in  California  in 
1848,  these  men  were  in  the  first  rush  to  the  new  gold  fields. 

Reference  to  the  early  history  of  mining  in  California  will 
show  that  the  first  work  of  any  importance  there  was  done  by 
these  Georgia  miners. 

In  1852,  besides  the  amounts  shipped  to  other  mints  and  used 
for  other  purposes,  almost  half  a  million  dollars  of  Georgia  gold 
was  coined  at  the  Dahlonega  Mint.  After  this,  owing  to  the 


GOLD  MINING  IN  GEORGIA  2I7 

exodus  of  the  miners,  the  production  decreased  rapidly  until  1857, 
when  only  $32,000  was  mined  in  the  State.  Then  followed  a  steady 
increase  in  production,  to  be  checked  entirely  by  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  War,  three  years  later. 

After  this  war  the  men  of  this  section  were  forced  to  employ 
all  available  capital  in  rebuilding  homes;  and  in  pursuits  that 
would  produce  bread  and  the  actual  necessities  of  life.  The  ani- 
mosity then  existing  between  the  two  sections  was  an  effectual 
barrier  to  Northern  capital.  So  while  Georgia  progressed  rapidly 
in  agriculture  and  manufacture,  no  attention  was  paid  to  her 
mineral  resources. 

In  the  early  nineties  conditions  had  changed,  and  Northern 
capitalists  became  interested  in  the  Dahlonega  district.  For  a  rime 
it  seemed  that  considerable  development  would  be  the  outcome. 
These,  however,  without  exception,  proved  to  be  a  series  of  stock- 
jobbing scheme;;,  without  the  slightest  pretence  at  legitimate  min- 
ing. A  large  amount  of  stock  was  sold  and  enough  money  raised 
to  accomplish  a  great  deal  if  it  had  been  used  to  sink  shafts  and 
drive  tunnels,  but  instead  of  this  it  was  all  spent  in  paying  salaries, 
building  and  equiping  large  stamp  mills,  residences  and  for  advertis- 
ing. The  result  is  obvious. 

Other  mines  have  been  opened  and  operation  attempted  on  a 
small  scale.  Sometimes  with  $1,000  to  $5,000  capital  to  start  with, 
but  oftener  with  nothing  but  a  small  equipment  of  second-hand 
machinery ;  and  that  usually  purchased  on  credit.  Such  attempts 
not  only  result  in  failure,  but  reflect  seriously  and  unjustly  on  the 
value  of  the  mines.  In  a  few  other  instances,  where  larger  amounts 
have  been  spent  for  development  and  the  ore  bodies  found  to 
contain  gold  in  paying  quantities,  there  has  been  a  general  uncer- 
tainty on  the  part  of  the  operators  as  to  the  policy  to  be  followed 
from  one  year  to  another.  This  timidity,  though  not  resulting  in 
absolute  failure,  has  given  the  idea  that  the  mines  themselves  were 
rather  uncertain  and  that  they  do  not  warrant  serious  consideration. 

Although  many  eminent  engineers  have  examined  and  reported 
favorably  on  a  number  of  mines  in  Georgia,  there  -is  not  a  single 
instance  where  mining  has  been  pursued  consistently  and  with  that 
definiteness  of  purpose  demanded  by  success  in  any  line.  As  a 
result  of  these  conditions  there  is  probably  more  virgin  mineral 
territory  in  Georgia  to-day  than  in  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 
Nearly  all  the  gold  produced  so  far  has  come  from  the  streams 


218  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

and   the   oxidized   portions   of   the   veins,   leaving   the   unoxidized 
ores,  even  in  the  richest  veins,  untouched. 

The  best-known  mines  in  the  State  are  on  the  Dahlonega  belt, 
which  extends  from  Haralson  County  on  the  west  to  Rabun 
County  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  State,  thence  into  North 
Carolina.  These  veins,  as  a  rule,  strike  with  the  formation,  cutting 
the  trend  of  the  belt  at  a  slight  angle.  They  vary  from  a  few 
inches  to  more  than  100  feet  in  thickness  and  are  composed  of 
innumerable  quartz  stringers  and  lenzes  interlaced  with  the  country 
rock,  which  is  usually  mica  schist.  While  the  quartz  stringers 
rr-d  lenzes  are  the  chief  source  of  the  gold,  the  schist  also  carries 
this  metal  in  paying  quantities;  and  in  mining  no  attempt  is  made 
to  separate  it  from  the  quartz. 

A  recent  preliminary  examination  of  a  property  that  has  never 
been  worked  shows  a  vein  8  to  20  feet  thick  and  nearly  a  mile  long. 
Samples  were  taken  from  four  trenches  cut  across  the  vein  and 
show  values  as  follows : 

No.  1 $4.15  per  ton. 

No.  2 3.12  per  ton. 

No.  3 3.60  per  ton. 

No.  4 3.42  per  ton. 

An  adjoining  property,  on  which  only  one  trench  has  been  cut, 
shows  a  vein  15  feet  thick  and  a  value  of  $4.20  per  ton.  Still 
another  property,  which  has  produced  a  considerable  amount  of 
placer  gold,  shows  a  number  of  veins,  varying  from  6  inches  to 
10  feet  in  thickness  and  values  varying  from  $2.50  to  $50  per  ton. 

The  ore  is  the  typical  "saprolite"  of  the  district,  very  soft,  free 
milling,  and  can  be  worked  to  a  considerable  depth  without  blasting. 
On  other  properties  this  decomposed  portion  of  the  veins  has  been 
worked  by  the  most  extravagant  and  wasteful  methods.  And  as 
soon  as  hard  rock  and  the  sulphide  ores  were  encountered,  the 
veins  were  considered  "worked  out"  and  abandoned. 

By  the  Dahlonega  method,  of  sluicing  the  soft  ore  into  the 
mills  from  open-cuts  along  the  strike  of  the  veins,  it  is  claimed  that 
the  cost  of  mining  and  milling  was  less  than  15  cents  per  ton.  This 
may  be  true,  still,  if  the  loss  in  tailings  had  been  considered,  there 
is  no  doubt  but  this  would  have  been  found  the  most  expensive  mine 
operation  ever  known.  These  methods,  if  methods  they  may  be 
called,  have  already  been  described  in  the  various  bulletins  of  the 


GOLD  MINING  IN  GEORGIA  219 

Geological  Survey  of  Georgia,  it  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  go  into 
further  detail  here. 

In  placer  mining,  "long-toms  "  rockers,  sluice  and  riffle  boxes 
were  used.  These  are  all  crude  appliances,  but  the  work  seems 
to  have  been  done  with  much  more  care  than  the  vein  mining. 
While  the  old  placer  miners  seem  to  have  known  their  business 
pretty  well  and  to  have  left  very  little  value  in  the  tailings,  there 
is  no  evidence  of  systematic  work.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
these  lands  were  never  owned  by  the  government.  It  being  un- 
necessary for  a  miner  to  stake  off  a  claim  and  stick  to  his  own 
"diggins,"  he  switched  about  from  one  gulch  to  another,  never 
thoroughly  working  any  piece  of  ground,  but  half  working  all  of  it, 
leaving  thousands  of  acres  almost  rich  enough  to  work,  but  possibly 
too  low  grade,  because  he  has  robbed  it  of  its  rich  streaks  and 
"pockets." 

The  most  successful  deep  mines  in  the  State  are  what  is  known 
as  the  McDuffie  belt,  which  is  parallel,  but  150  miles  east  of  the 
Dahlonega  belt.  It  traverses  Warren,  McDuffie  and  Lincoln  Coun- 
ties in  this  State  crosses  the  Savannah  River  and  extends  into  the 
Carolinas. 

Here  the  veins,  the  formation  and  methods  are  entirely  dif- 
ferent, but  the  same  carelessness  and  uncertainty  that  has  proven 
so  detrimental  to  the  Dahlonega  district  prevails.  Many  of  the 
mines  have  been  good  producers  in  a  limited  way,  but  with  proper 
development  and  equipment  are  capable  of  a  large  output  and  good 
dividends. 

The  gold  occurs  in  fissue  veins,  which  invariably  dip  to  the 
north  or  northwest,  but  seem  to  have  no  general  direction  of  strike. 
The  majority  of  them,  perhaps,  strike  and  dip  nearly  with  the 
formation  of  the  country  rock,  but  the  most  productive  ones  cut 
this  formation,  striking  east  and  west  or  north  and  south. 

They  frequently  continue  in  an  almost  unbroken  line,  with 
regular  dip  and  strike,  for  several  miles,  although,  of  course  they 
vary  from  mere  gravel  seams  to  zones  many  feet  wide.  The 
material,  a  hard  massive  quartz,  occurs,  not  in  lenzes,  but  in 
shoots,  which  continue  downward  with  uniform  thickness,  as  deep 
as  work  has  yet  been  done.  The  veins  are  separated  from  the  coun- 
try rock  by  a  few  inches  of  gouge,  and  frequently  show  a  ribbon  or 
banded  structure ;  it  is  often  along  the  faces  formed  by  the  banding 
that  the  finest  specimens  of  free  gold  are  found.  Whether  this 


220  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

banding  occurs  or  not,  however,  the  gold  is  found  as  a  general 
rule,  thoroughly  distributed  throughout  the  entire  vein.  Auriferous 
pyrites  occur  in  all  the  veins,  particularly  below  water  level,  and  the 
concentrates  of  this  character  show  by  assay  a  value  of  from  $100  to 
$300  per  ton.  The  minerals  or  vein  materials  are  quartz,  iron 
pyrite,  free  gold  and  galena.  Chalcopyrite  and  various  other  min- 
erals occur  in  smaller  quantities. 

The  quartz  is  very  clean  and  the  gold  is  coarse.  The  absentee 
of  slimes  in  the  crushed  product  greatly  simplifies  both  amalga- 
mation and  concentration. 

Except  in  rare  instances  has  the  country  rock  been  found  to 
contain  any  gold  whatever,  and  an  exceptional  economic  feature  is 
that  the  veins  are  confined  entirely  within  well-defined  walls 

The  average  value  of  the  ore  most  extensively  worked  is  $6 
to  $10  per  ton,  though  some  veins  have  yielded  much  more  than 
this.  The  ore  from  the  Parks  mine,  operated  for  several  years  by 
its  owner,  Mrs.  J.  Belknap  Smith,  averaged  $34  per  ton  in  free 
gold.  The  Bell  vein,  which  is  a  contact  vein  between  the  schist 
and  granite  belts,  averages  $22  per  ton.  Of  this  about  $14  per  ton 
is  free  gold. 

These  very  rich  veins,  however,  are  the  exceptions  to  the 
rule,  and  the  strength  of  the  district  lies  in  its  many  veins  averaging 
from  $4  to  $10  per  ton,  its  accessibility  and  the  many  natural 
advantages  favorable  to  mining  on  a  large  scale. 

Among  the  isolated  mines  of  the  State,  that  is,  mines  not 
located  on  the  well-known  belts,  the  Seminole  or  Magruda,  is 
undoubtedly,  the  most  prominent.  This  mine,  which  is  located  in 
Lincoln  County  about  ten  miles  north  of  the  McDuffie  belt,  is  of 
unusual,  almost  unique  character,  among  Southern  mines.  The  ore 
carries  values  of  about  $15  per  ton,  about  equally  divided  between 
copper  and  gold,  with  minor  but  constant  values  in  silver  and  lead. 
With  proper  development  this  will  undoubtedly  become  a  remark- 
ably productive  mine. 

The  object  of  this  paper,  however,  is  not  to  call  attention  to 
individual  mines  nor  to  give  a  detailed  history  of  any  operation, 
but  to  present  the  gold  deposits  of  the  entire  State,  and  invite  the 
closest  inspection  by  those  who  may  be  interested. 

The  gold  that  Georgia  has  produced  has  been  gotten  so  easily 
and  by  such  wasteful  and  impractical  methods,  that  neither  the 
production  nor  the  failures  made  can  be  taken  as  the  slightest  indi- 


GOLD  MINING  IN  GEORGIA  221 

cation  of  the  possibilities  of  the  field.  It  is  a  great  misfortune 
that  gold  should  have  been  discovered  in  Georgia  so  long  before 
men  knew  how  to  mine  or  to  extract  the  values;  for  if  these  ores 
could  have  been  mined  and  treated  under  present  conditions,  there 
is  not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  the  State  would  now  have  a 
production  of  several  hundred  million  dollars  to  her  credit. 

There  is  nothing  more  absurd  than  the  idea  that  prevails  in 
some  sections  that  the  mines  of  the  State  have  been  worked  out  or 
that  the  veins  do  not  "go  down."  While  it  is  true  that  many  of 
them  were  abandoned  years  ago  because  the  ignorant  miners  of 
that  day  believed  the  ore  contained  no  gold  below  water  level, 
assays  show  that  the  ore  is  as  rich  as  it  ever  was.  The  only  differ- 
ence being  that  the  values  are  now  in  the  sulphides  and  can  only 
be  recovered  by  scientific  methods.  This,  instead  of  being  a  mis- 
fortune, is  a  Godsend,  because  it  put  a  stop  to  the  wastefulness  of 
the  old  days.  As  to  whether  the  veins  continue  downward  or  not, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  surface  and  out-croppings  of  to-day 
are  many  thousand  feet  below  where  the  surface  was  when  these 
fissues  were  opened  and  the  veins  deposited.  Nature,  therefore, 
has  already  done  this  prospecting  for  us,  and  has  proven  that  the 
veins  may  be  expected  to  continue  on  downward  to  depths  we  have 
never  known. 

Naturally  the  question  is  asked:  "Why,  if  these  mines  are  so 
capable  of  producing  gold,  has  Georgia's  gold  production  decreased 
from  year  to  year?" 

The  answer  is  that  Southern  men  are  not  miners.  Forced,  as 
they  were  by  the  misfortunes  of  war,  into  agriculture  and  manu- 
facture, they  have  given  these  pursuits  their  undivided  attention. 
Success  in  these  lines  has  been  so  complete  that  they  have  never 
stopped  to  think,  nor  realized,  that  they  need  gold. 

The  capital  invested  in  manufactures  in  the  South  has  in- 
creased nearly  1,000  per  cent,  since  1880.  There  are  nearly 
100,000,000  more  cotton  spindles  in  the  South  to-day  than  were 
in  the  entire  country  in  1880.  The  value  of  the  farm  products  of 
the  South  in  1910  was  nearly  $300,000  000  more  than  that  of  the 
entire  United  States  in  1880.  Still  if  she  had  given  no  more  atten- 
tion to  manufacture  and  agriculture  than  she  has  to  her  gold  mines, 
the  South  in  1910  was  nearly  $300,000,000  more  than  that  of  the 
secede,  the  Federal  government  would  not  turn  a  hand  or  waste  a 
dollar  to  whip  her  back  into  the  Union. 


222  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

But  the  fuel  that  heats  the  boilers  of  progress  is  gold.  With- 
out it  the  progress,  not  only  of  the  South,  but  of  the  nation,  must 
stop. 

We  cannot  expect  to  continue  to  hold  a  lion's  share  of  the 
business  of  the  world  with  a  credit  based  on  a  diminishing  one-fifth 
of  the  world's  gold  production. 

We  are  building  canals  and  talking  of  steamship  lines,  but  we 
are  not  preparing  for  the  emergency  of  even  a  slight  or  accidental 
business  expansion  that  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  inevitable  result 
of  such  enterprises. 

We  are  indeed  confronted  by  a  "yellow  peril."  But  it  is  the 
"yellow"  that  clinks  when  it  is  dropped  in  the  coffers  of  the 
nation's  business  rivals,  while  we,  by  neglect  and  wasteful  methods, 
are  allowing  our  own  production  of  gold  to  dwindle  into  insignifi- 
cance. 

To  check  this  decline  the  nation  must  look  to  the  wealth  of 
low-grade  but  easily  accessible  gold  mines  that  lie  within  its  terri- 
tory. 

The  gold  mines  of  Georgia  are  in  this  class,  and  when  properly 
developed  and  operated  by  business  men  on  business  principles,  will 
not  only  prove  to  be  steady  p'/oducers,  but  will  pay  large  dividends. 


Our  Radium  Resources. 

CHARLES  L.  PARSONS, 

CHIEF,  DIVISION    MINERAL  TECHNOLOGY,   BUREAU  OF   MINES, 
WASHINGTON,  D.   C. 

The  "wonders  of  radium,"  both  fact  and  fable,  have  been 
treated  so  extensively  in  the  scientific  and  public  press  that  it  is 
not  my  intention,  nor  is  it  at  all  necessary,  to  repeat  them  here. 
Rather  it  is  my  wish  today  to  present  to  a  body  of  men  interested 
in  the  development  of  American  mining  the  present  commercial 
situation  as  regards  radium  and  its  ores,  and  to  point  out,  so  far 
as  I  may,  some  of  those  future  developments  that  already  begin 
to  be  more  or  less  distinctively  visible. 

A  bulletin  on  the  radium,  uranium  and  vanadium  situation,  by 
R.  B.  Moore,  physical  chemist  in  charge  of  the  Denver  office  of  the 
Bureau  of  Mines,  and  K.  L.  Kithil,  mineral  technologist  of  the 
Bureau,  will  appear  within  a  few  weeks  and  will  contain  much 
detail  of  interest  to  the  mining  industry.  Last  April  an  advance 
statement,  authorized  by  the  director,  regarding  this  bulletin, 
brought  out  particularly  the  fact  that  practically  all  of  the  carnotite 
ore  mined  in  the  world  in  1912  was  shipped  abroad  and  that  this 
country  was  furnishing  annually  nearly  three  times  as  much  radium 
from  its  Colorado  carnotite  deposits  as  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
put  together.  It  was  further  pointed  out  that  this  material  has 
been  bought  by  European  buyers  at  a  price  entirely  incommensurate 
with  its  radium  value  and  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  keep  at 
home  both  the  radium  itself  and  the  profits  of  its  manufacture; 
also  that  too  much  stress  could  not  be  laid  upon  the  extensive 
waste  of  valuable  radium  ore  thrown  on  the  dumps  of  mines  and 
prospects — much  of  it  under  such  conditions  that  it  could  never  be 
recovered. 

The  publication  of  this  statement  has  already  resulted  in  an 
increase  of  at  least  33  per  cent,  in  the  price  of  carnotite  ore,  and 
European  buyers  are  awakening  to  the  fact  that  they  must  pay  to 
the  American  miner  a  price  nearer  the  actual  value  of  his  ore.  Also, 
a  much  lower  grade  of  ore  is  now  marketable,  for  whereas  six 


224  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

months  ago  ore  containing  2  per  cent,  uranium  oxide  was  the  lowest 
grade  accepted  by  European  buyers,  agents  of  these  buyers  are  now 
asking  for  and  actually  purchasing  ore  containing  no  more  than 
half  this  content  of  uranium.  Furthermore,  the  operators  are 
taking  more  care  in  separating  their  low  grade  ore  from  the 
gangue  and  in  protecting  it  from  wind  and  weather.  Moreover, 
old  dumps  are  being  sold  and  ore  that  a  few  months  ago  was 
thrown  aside  as  valueless  will  be  recovered  from  them. 

In  this  paper  I  shall  refer  to  other  facts  contained  in  this 
bulletin  and  shall  mention  some  new  developments  having  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  American  radium  industry  which  have  taken  place 
since  the  manuscript  was  sent  to  the  printer. 

As  is  well  known  to  all  of  you,  the  popular  belief  has  been 
that  the  chief  source  of  radium  is  the  mineral  pitchblende,  especially 
that  obtained  from  the  mines  now  under  the  control  of  the  Austrian 
government  at  Joachimenthal,  Bohemia,  and  pitchblende  is  the 
richest  and  most  eagerly  sought  uranium  radium  ore.  Outside  of 
the  ore  in  Austria,  the  only  pitchblende  deposits  of  any  size  are 
those  in  Gilpin  County,  Colorado,  from  which  some  thirty  tons, 
more  or  less,  have  been  procured  since  the  mineral  became  valuable 
as  a  source  of  radium.  The  Denver  papers  recently  announced 
that  these  pitchblende  bearing  mines  have  been  acquired  by  Alfred 
I.  du  Pont,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  hoped 
that  their  exploitation  under  his  direction  will  yield  an  increased 
supply  of  this  valuable  mineral.  It  is  not,  however,  so  generally 
recognized  that  the  mineral  carnotite,  which,  outside  of  the  United 
States,  occurs  only  in  the  Olray  district  of  South  Australia  and  in 
low  grade  ores  mixed  with  ilmenite  as  a  calcium  carnotite  (com- 
municated by  W.  F.  Hillebrand)  under  the  name  of  Tyuyamyunite, 
in  Ferghana,  Russian  Turkestan,  low-grade  ore  mixed  with  ilmenite, 
is  by  far  the  more  important  source  of  radium.  From  the  most 
authentic  sources  it  can  be  definitely  stated  that  the  Australian  and 
Russian  deposits  do  not  compare  in  extent  or  richness  with  our 
own.  The  American  carnotite  is  accordingly  the  largest  source  of 
radium  at  the  present  time,  and  at  least  four  times  as  much 
radium  was  mined  in  America  in  the  form  of  carnotite  in  1912  as 
has  been  produced  from  Colorado  pitchblende  since  it  was  first 
discovered  in  that  State. 

Outside  of  carnotite  and  pitchblende,  the  only  other  known 
source  of  radium  is  the  mineral  antunite.     The  autunite  deposits 


OUR  RADIUM  RESOURCES  225 

of  Portugal  have  probably  furnished  a  few  milligrams  to  com- 
merce, and  from  the  Mt.  Painter  deposits  in  South  Australia  a 
few  tons  of  autunite-bearing  ores  have  been  shipped  to  London. 

American  carnotite  is  found  chiefly  in  Montrose  and  San 
Miguel  counties,  Colorado,  and  in  Utah,  northwest  of  these  counties. 
The  Utah  deposits  are  at  Green  River,  Table  Mountain,  Richard- 
sons,  Fruita,  Moab,  and  some  sixteen  miles  southeast  of  Thompsons. 
The  ores  of  these  deposits  are  of  a  lower  grade  than  those  of  the 
Paradox  Valley,  but  they  are  nearer  to  the  railroads  and  trans- 
portation costs  are  much  less.  The  Green  River  deposits  have 
apparently  become  regular  producers.  In  Colorado,  prospects  have 
been  opened  at  Coal  Creek,  fourteen  miles  north  of  Meeker,  and 
at  Skull  Creek,  sixty-five  miles  west  of  Meeker,  but  the  richest  of 
all  American  carnotite  localities  and,  indeed,  the  richest  known 
radium-bearing  region  in  the  world  is  that  of  the  Paradox  Valley, 
extending  from  Hydraulic  on  the  north  to  the  Mclntyre  district  on 
the  south. 

Geologists  are  now  in  the  field  making  a  special  study  of  these 
carnotite  ores  with  special  reference  to  their  occurrence  and  origin, 
of  which  altogether  too  little  is  now  known.  In  the  Paradox  region, 
the  deposits  seem  to  lie  invariably  just  above  the  fine-grained  La 
Plata  sandstone.  This  rock  is  usually  exposed-high  on  the  sides 
of  the  canyons,  some  of  which  are  excelled  in  extent  and  in  natural 
beauty  by  only  the  Grand  Canyon  itself.  In  a  few  instances,  as  at 
Long  Park  and  Club  Ranch,  the  deposits  are  only  a  few  feet  under 
the  surface,  the  higher  formations  having  been  eroded;  but  for  the 
main  part,  the  stratum  in  which  the  carnotite  occurs,  when  not 
entirely  eroded,  is  deep  below  the  surface  of  the  mess.  Accordingly 
prospecting  is  mainly  carried  on  along  the  sides  of  the  canyons,  and 
where  vanadium  and  uranium  stains  are  seen  upon  the  rock  the 
prospector  blasts  his  tunnel  in  the  hope  of  developing  a  pocket  of 
the  ore.  The  fact  that  the  ore  occurs  in  pockets  renders  prospecting 
uncertain,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  present  hope  of  insuring  a 
successful  search  for  pockets  that  are  not  exposed,  or  do  not  happen 
to  be  near  the  surface.  Although  it  is  probable  that  many  other 
pockets  of  carnotite  occur  at  the  same  geologic  horizon,  their  dis- 
covery, except  where  the  ore-bearing  stratum  has  been  exposed  by 
erosion,  appears  at  present  to  be  an  almost  hopeless  task.  The 
eroded  sides  of  the  canyons  have  been  prospected  again  and  again,, 
but  now  claims  are  still  being  opened  and  are  being  sold  by  the 


226  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

prospector  to  the  larger  companies  or  operators  who  mine  the  ore. 
In  such  a  sale  the  prospector  and  the  purchaser  both  take  a  decided 
risk,  for  at  present  no  method  is  used  to  determine  the  extent  of  the 
ore  in  the  pocket  other  than  the  "prospector's  hole." 

As  few  of  the  prospectors  of  the  west  are  acquainted  with 
carnotite  and  pitchblende,  the  following  description  of  the  ores  has 
been  issued  from  the  Denver  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  and  is 
sent  to  all  who  make  inquiry : 

"In  reply  to  your  letter  for  information  concerning  radium 
ores,  the  following  facts  may  be  of  interest : 

Radium  is  found  with  uranium  minerals  only.  Wherever 
uranium  exists,  radium  is  also  found  in  the  mineral ;  and  where  there 
is  no  uranium,  radium  has  never  been  found.  Uranium  and  there- 
fore radium  are  found  in  this  country  in  carnotite  and  its  associated 
minerals,  and  in  pitchblende.  Carnotite  is  a  lemon-yellow  mineral, 
usually  found  in  pockets  of  sandstone  deposits.  The  mineral  may 
be  in  the  form  of  light  yellow  specks  disseminated  through  the  sand- 
stone, or  as  yellow  incrustations  in  the  cracks  of  the  sandstone ;  or 
may  be  more  or  less  massive,  associated  with  blue,  black,  or  brown 
vanadium  ores. 

"Pitchblende  is  a  hard,  blue-black  ore  that  looks  something  like 
magnetite,  but  is  heavier.  It  is  found  in  pockets  and  veins  in  igneous 
rocks.  This  mineral  is  not  nearly  as  widely  distributed  as  carnotite. 
Occasionally  it  is  found  associated  with  an  orange  mineral  called 
gummite. 

"The  best  way  to  test  these  ores  is  to  wrap,  in  the  dark,  a  photo- 
graphic plate  in  two  thicknesses  of  black  paper.  On  the  paper  lay  a 
key  and  then,  just  above  the  key,  suspend  two  or  three  ounces  of  the 
ore,  and  place  the  whole  in  a  light-tight  box.  Pressure  of  the  ore  on 
the  key  and  plate  should  be  avoided.  After  three  or  four  days, 
develop  the  plate  in  the  ordinary  way ;  and  if  the  ore  is  appreciably 
radio-active,  an  image  of  the  key  will  be  found  on  the  plate. 

"The  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,  502  Foster  Building,  Denver, 
Colorado,  will  be  glad  to  receive  any  samples  of  ores  giving  promise 
Df  containing  radium  and  associated  rare  minerals,  as  indicated  by  the 
test  above  described.  Though  it  cannot  undertake  to  make  chemical 
analyses  or  assays  of  such  minerals  for  private  parties,  it  will  in- 
dicate the  advisability  of  further  examination." 


OUR  RADIUM  RESOURCES  227 

The  Colorado  carnotite  deposits  were  apparently  first  noted  as 
far  back  as  1881,  when  Andrew  J.  Talbert  mined  some  of  the  ore 
and  sent  it  to  Leadville,  where  it  was  reported  as  carrying  $5  in  gold 
per  ton.  This  must  have  been  an  unusual  ore,  as  the  carnotite  now 
found  does  not  carry  the  precious  metal.  In  1896,  Gordon  Kimball 
and  Thomas  Logan  sent  specimens  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  were  informed  that  the  minerals  contained 
uranium.  Shortly  thereafter  they  mined  10  tons  of  ore,  shipped  it  to 
Denver,  and  sold  it  for  $2,700  on  account  of  its  uranium  content. 
Three  years  later,  in  1899,  Poulot  and  Voilleque  collected  and  sent 
to  France  specimens  which  were  examined  by  Friedel  and  Cumonge, 
who  recognized  the  existence  of  a  new  mineral  and  named  it  "Car- 
notite," in  honor  of  M.  Carnot,  then  President  of  the  French  Re- 
public. In  1900  Poulet  and  Voilleque  leased  carnotite  ores  at 
Cashin  in  the  Paradox  Valley  to  extract  the  uranium.  They  shortly 
after  completed  a  small  mill  in  the  Mclntyre  district,  south  of  the 
Paradox,  and  in  this  project  had  the  co-operation  of  Jas.  McBride,  a 
mining  engineer  of  Burton,  Michigan.  Their  mill  ran  until  1902  and 
during  that  time  produced  15,000  pounds  of  uranium  oxide.  The  mill 
was  started  again  in  1903  by  the  Western  Refining  Company,  but  ran 
only  a  year.  Up  to  1904  the  mills  appear  to  have  been  run  wholly  with 
the  idea  of  obtaining  the  uranium  and  vanadium  from  the  ore,  for 
no  radium  was  extracted.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Dolores  Refining 
Company  built  a  new  mill  a  short  distance  from  'the  old  one,  but 
after  running  for  some  years,  this  mill,  too,  shut  down.  In  1912  the 
American  Rare  Metals  Company  acquired  the  mill  of  the  Dolores 
Refining  Company  and  is  now  operating  it,  with  the  special  purpose 
of  obtaining  radium  from  the  ores.  The  first  attempt  to  extract 
radium  in  this  country  appears  to  have  been  made  by  the  Rare  Metals 
Reduction  Company,  under  the  management  of  Stephen  T.  Lock- 
wood,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  In  September,  1900,  Mr.  Lockwood 
brought  back  from  Richardson,  Utah,  samples  of  carnotite  ore  and  in 
1902  he  published  in  the  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal  of  Sep- 
tember 27  fhe  first  radiographic  plate  from  products  of  American 
carnotite.  In  June,  1902,  he  received  500  pounds  of  specially  picked 
high-grade  ore  from  Richardson,  Utah,  and  in  May,  1903,  as  a  result 
of  experimental  work  on  this  ore,  he  incorporated  what  was  prob- 
ably the  first  American  company  to  operate  a  plant  to  produce  radium 
as  one  of  its  products.  In  October,  1903,  the  first  experimental  plant 
was  constructed  and  in  April,  1904,  the  first  17-ton  car  of  ore 
reached  Buffalo  from  Richardson,  Utah.  The  company  obtained  a 


228  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

fair  percentage  of  extraction,  but  the  ore  proved  to  be  too  low  grade 
and  the  Richardson  deposits  were  abandoned.  No  radium  in  con- 
centrated form  was  put  upon  the  market,  although  barium  sulphate 
concentrates  were  produced. 

The  General  Vanadium  Company,  which,  with  the  Radium 
Extraction  Company,  is  a  subsidiary  of  the  International  Vanadium 
Company  of  Liverpool,  England,  was  formed  in  1909  and  began 
work  in  1910,  the  same  year  that  the  Standard  Chemical  Company 
of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  entered  the  field.  Since  that  time  these  two  com- 
panies have  been  engaged  in  mining  carnotite.  The  ores  from  the 
General  Vanadium  Company  have  been  shipped  almost  entirely 
abroad,  while  the  Standard  Chemical  Company  has  shipped  several 
hundreds  of  tons  of  carnotite  to  its  works  at  Canonsburg,  Pa.  While 
it  was  stated  at  the  time  of  the  advance  announcement  of  the 
bulletin  to  be  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  that  one  American 
Company  had  actively  entered  into  the  production  of  radium,  no 
actual  sale  of  American  produced  radium  could  be  authenticated. 
Since  that  time,  however,  the  Standard  Chemical  Company  has 
entered  the  American  markets. 

Besides  the  American  Rare  Metals  Company  and  the  Standard 
Chemical  Company,  a  third  compaay — the  Radium  Company  of 
America,  with  mines  near  Green  River,  Utah — has  undertaken  the 
production  of  radium  in  its  plant  at  Sellersville,  Pa.  There  is,  there- 
fore, every  reason  to  hope  that  more  and  more  of  our  ores  will  be 
worked  up  at  home. 

Besides  the  companies  already  mentioned,  a  number  of  inde- 
pendent operators  mine  and  ship  carnotite  from  the  Paradox  region 
and  for  the  main  part  send  their  ores  to  Hamburg.  Among  the  more 
prominent  of  these  may  be  mentioned: 

T.  V.  Curren,  Placerville,  Colo. 

W.  L.  Cummings,  Placerville,  Colo. 

O.  B.  Wilsmarth,  Montrose,  Colo. 

David  Taylor,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

The  costs  of  mining,  and  especially  of  transportation,  are  an 
important  factor  in  the  marketing  of  carnotite.  The  Green  River 
deposits  have  a  distinct  advantage  over  the  Colorado  deposits  in  this 
respect,  as  they  are  nearer  the  railroad,  but,  as  their  ores  do  not 
average  so  high  in  uranium,  this  advantage  is  more  apparent  than 
real.  The  present  costs  of  mining,  sorting  and  sacking  in  the  Para- 


OUR  RADIUM  RESOURCES  229 

dox  apparently  vary  from  about  $28  to  $40  per  ton.  To  this  must 
be  added  an  $18  to  $20  hauling  charge  to  Placerville,  and,  in  most 
instances,  an  additional  charge  for  burros  from  the  mines  to  points 
that  can  be  reached  by  wagon.  The  freight  rate  from  Placerville  to 
Hamburg,  via  Galveston,  is  $14.50  per  ton,  so  that  the  average  cost 
at  present  to  the  miner  laying  down  his  ore  at  the  European  markets 
approximates  $70  per  ton.  The  selling  price  varies  with  the  uranium 
content,  but  is  by  no  means  proportional  thereto,  since  a  premium  is 
always  paid  for  rich  ores.  Very  recently,  however,  a  decided 
improvement  has  taken  place  and  for  2  per  cent,  ore,  the  price  is  now 
around  $2.50  per  pound  for  the  contained  uranium  oxide,  with  an 
allowance  of  about  13  cents  per  pound  for  the  vanadium  oxide  con- 
tent, so  that  the  2  per  cent  ore  will  now  bring  in  Hamburg  about  $95 
per  ton.  One  per  cent  ore  is  now  salable,  but  unless  this  ore  is  taken 
from  the  dump,  so  that  the  mining  cost  may  be  disregarded,  it  will 
scarcely  bear  present  transportation  charges  from  the  Paradox,  al- 
though it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  will  be  soon  shipped  regularly 
from  the  Utah  field. 

A  price  of  $95  at  Hamburg  for  2  per  cent  ore  leaves  a  fair 
margin  of  profit  to  the  miner,  as  mining  profits  go,  but  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  this  price  represents  only  a  little  over  one-tenth  of  the 
value  of  the  radium  content  of  the  ore  and  that  from  this  fraction 
of  the  value  the  American  miner  has  to  meet  the  outlay  represented 
by  the  investment,  by  mining  costs,  transportation  and  assay  costs 
and  by  losses  in  transit,  it  seems  scarcely  just  that  nearly  nine-tenths 
of  the  value  should  go  to  foreign  manufacturers  of  radium,  especially 
when  the  fact  is  considered  that  radium  can  be  produced  much  more 
readily  from  carnotite  than  from  pitchblende.  There  are  two  ways 
of  reducing  this  difference  between  the  actual  value  of  the  ore  and 
the  price  that  the  miner  receives.  One  is  to  hold  our  American  ores 
for  a  higher  price,  and  the  second  is  to  manufacture  radium  at  home. 

Large  wastes  are  still  taking  place  in  the  mining  of  carnotite, 
owing  to  the  inability  of  the  low-grade  ores  to  bear  transportation 
charges.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  however,  a  distinct  im- 
provement in  this  respect  has  taken  place  within  the  last  few  months. 
The  miners  are  beginning  to  realize  the  value  of  their  old  dumps  and 
are  attempting  to  save  the  low-grade,  non-shipping  ore  in  such  ways 
as  will  render  its  marketing  possible  when  prices  advance.  The 
Bureau  of  Mines  has  done  everything  it  can  to  impress  the  necessity 
of  this  truest  kind  of  conservation  upon  the  mine  operator. 


230  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

In  addition,  there  is  prospect  that  most  of  the  low-grade  ores 
can  be  successfully  concentrated  by  mechanical  methods  and  experi- 
ments at  the  Denver  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  indicate  that  a 
concentration  of  four  to  one  can  be  obtained.  In  this  concentration, 
however,  there  are  losses  which  could  be  prevented  by  chemical  con- 
centration, but  at  the  present  time  it  costs  more  to  ship  the  necessary 
chemicals  to  the  mines  than  it  does  to  ship  the  ores  to  places  where 
these  chemicals  can  be  cheaply  obtained.  It  would  appear,  however, 
that  mechanical  concentration  can  save  at  least  one-half  of  the 
material  that  is  now  going  to  waste. 

Although,  until  recently,  the  manufacture  of  radium  has  been 
carried  on  almost  wholly  in  France  and  Germany,  there  appears  to  be 
no  good  reason  why  our  American  carnotite  should  not  be  treated  at 
home.  Carnotite  is  much  more  easily  treated  than  pitchblende  and 
the  essential  features  of  methods  for  its  chemical  treatment  are  well 
known,  although  much  of  the  mechanical  detail  of  operation  has  been 
kept  secret.  As  the  mechanical  requirements,  however,  are  those 
which  any  well-grounded  chemical  engineer  should  be  able  .to  solve, 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  any  of  our  carnotite  ores 
should  be  shipped  abroad,  even  at  two  or  three  times  the  present 
market  price  of  the  material.  As  before  stated,  the  essential  features 
of  chemical  methods  of  extracting  radium  from  its  ores  are  well 
known.  As  regards  the  principles  involved,  the  methods  have  ad- 
vanced little  beyond  the  original  method  published  by  Debierne. 

The  methods  for  carnotite  may  be  described  best  in  the  words  of 
Soddy,  in  an  extract  from  "The  Chemistry  of  the  Radio  Elements," 
by  Frederick  Soddy,  page  55,  published  in  1911  by  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co. 

"The  most  important  operations  in  the  working  up  of  radium- 
containing  materials  are  the  solution  of  the  materials,  consisting 
usually  of  insoluble  sulphates,  and  the  separation  of  the  halogen 
salts  of  the  alkaline-earth  group  in  a  pure  state,  followed  by 
their  fractional  crystallization.  The  first  operation  is  usually 
effected  by  vigorous  boiling  with  sodium  carbonate  solution, 
filtering  and  washing  free  from  sulphate.  This  is  the  well-known 
reaction  studied  dynamically  by  Guldberg  and  Waage,  whereby 
an  equilibrium  is  attained  between  the  two  pairs  of  soluble  and 
insoluble  sulphates  and  carbonates.  Naturally  the  greater  the  excess 
of  sodium  carbonate  the  larger  the  proportion  of  insoluble  sulphate 
converted  into  insoluble  carbonate.  In  this  operation  it  is  advisable 


OUR  RADIUM  RESOURCES  231 

not  to  wash  at  once  with  water,  but  with  sodium  carbonate  solution 
until  most  of  the  sulphates  are  removed,  as  thereby  the  reconversion 
of  the  carbonates  back  into  insoluble  sulphates  is  largely  prevented. 
In  dealing  with  crude  materials — for  example,  the  radium-containing 
residues  from  pitchblende — it  is  often  advantageous  to  precede  this 
operation  by  a  similar  one,  using  a  sodium  hydrate  solution  contain- 
ing a  little  carbonate,  which  dissolves  part  of  the  lead  and  silica 
present.  The  carbonates,  washed  free  from  sulphates,  are  treated 
with  pure  hydrochloric  acid,  which  dissolves  the  alkaline-earths,  in- 
cluding radium.  From  the  solution  the  latter  may  be  precipitated  as 
sulphates  by  sulphuric  acid  and  reconverted  back  into  carbonates  as 
before,  or  sometimes  more  conveniently  they  may  be  precipitated 
directly  as  chlorides  by  saturating  the  solution  with  hydrogen 
chloride.  This  is  a  very  elegant  method  of  great  utility  in  the 
laboratory,  for  the  most  probable  impurities,  chlorides  of  lead,  iron, 
calcium,  etc.,  remain  in  solution  and  only  the  barium  and  radium 
chloride  are  precipitated,  practically  in  the  pure  state,  ready  for 
fractionation." 

The  price  of  radium  appears  for  some  time  to  have  been  holding 
steady  at  about  $120  per  milligram  of  radium  metal.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  material  is  bought  in  the  elementary  condition,  but  that 
the  radium  chloride  and  radium  bromide,  which  are  on  the  market, 
are  paid  for  on  the  basis  of  the  metallic  radium  they  contain.  This 
method  of  payment  is  a  distinct  advance  over  the  old  method  of  pay- 
ing the  same  price  indiscriminately  for  the  chloride  or  bromide.  This 
price  of  $120  per  gram  of  the  metal  is  eqnivalent  to  approximately 
$91,000  per  gram  of  radium  chloride  (RaCl2),  or  $70,000  per  gram 
of  anhydrous  radium  bromide  (RaBr2).  Whether  this  price  will 
rise,  fall,  or  remain  stationary  can  not  be  predicted.  There  is  no 
question  that  there  is  to  be  an  increased  radium  production  and  that 
meso-thorium  is  also  coming  upon  the  markets  in  increasing  quantity, 
but  the  uses  of  and  demand  for  radium  are  apparently  developing  at 
an  even  greater  rate.  Furthermore,  the  supply  of  the  material  is 
limited  and  no  large  resources  are  in  sight.  Only  one  estimate  has 
been  published  of  the  total  quantity  of  radium  in  the  Colorado  car- 
notite  deposits,  and  that  was  900  grams.  This  estimate  is  at  least  five 
times  as  large  as  has  been  made  by  any  employee  of  the  Bureau  of 
Mines,,  reckoning  all  known  deposits  in  the  whole  American  field, 
even  including  material  too  low  grade  to  be  marketable.  Besides  the 
radium,  the  uranium  and  the  vanadium  present  in  carnotite  are  avail- 


232  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

able  assets,  and  recent  developments  indicate  that  all  the  uranium 
produced  will  soon  be  readily  sold,  while  it  is  well  known  that  there 
is  a  ready  market  for  vanadium  for  vanadium  steel. 

The  value  to  the  public  of  these  deposits  is,  however,  not  to  be 
measured  in  dollars  and  cents.  The  value  of  the  radium  output  of 
America  will  never  compare  with  that  of  several  of  our  common 
metals.  The  total  value  of  the  radium  in  the  world's  output  of 
radium  ores  in  1912  was  little  more  than  $1,000,000.  Accordingly, 
the  value  must  ever  be  reckoned  in  what  it  can  accomplish  for  the 
public  knowledge  and  the  public  weal.  No  certain  prediction  can  be 
made  of  the  ultimate  value  of  radium,  or  of  its  possible  applications 
to  science  or  medicine,  but  enough  has  been  done  to  show  that  radium 
is  worthy  of  the  fullest  investigation  by  our  highest  scientific  and 
medical  authorities.  Developments  in  its  application  to  medicine  are 
coming  fast.  The  foreign  medical  press  contains  many  apparently 
authentic  reports  of  cures  by  its  use.  Interesting  developments  are 
also  under  way  in  America,  and  those  who  have  had  the  largest 
personal  experience  in  its  use  are  most  enthusiastic  over  its  future 
application.  The  public  may  soon  look  to  important  publications 
from  leading  American  authorities,  who  have  had  real  experience 
in  radium  therapy.  It  is  to  be  greatly  regretted  that,  owing  to  the 
high  price  of  the  material,  only  three  or  four  American  surgeons 
have,  so  far  as  the  Bureau  of  Mines  is  informed,  been  able  to  use  it 
in  quantities  sufficient  for  the  drawing  of  decisive  conclusions.  In 
the  progress  of  the  future  applications  of  radium  to  the  curing  of  dis- 
ease, nothing  is  more  to  be  feared  than  its  use  in  nostrums  of  every 
kind.  The  "wonders  of  radium"  have  been  so  extensively  exploited 
in  the  public  press  that  already  the  name  is  being  employed  as  a 
psychological  agent  in  advertisements  of  all  kinds  of  materials,  many 
of  which  contain  no  radium  at  all,  or,  if  this  element  is  indeed  present, 
in  such  small  quantities  that  no  therapeutic  value  can  be  expected. 
As  bearing  on  the  need  of  further  experiment,  attention  is  called  to 
the  fact  that  the  concentrated  action  of  large  quantities  of  radium 
may  effect  cures  that  have  been  impossible  with  the  smaller  amounts 
heretofore  available  to  the  medical  profession.  It  is  doubtful  if 
there  is  at  the  present  time  in  the  hands  of  the  medical  profession  of 
America  more  than  a  single  gram  of  this  rare  element,  and  the  results 
of  investigations  soon  to  be  published  will  show  that  the  concen- 
trated action  of  the  gamma  rays  from  several  hundred  milligrams 
arrest  certain  forms  of  cancer  and  other  malignant  growths  when; 


OUR  RADIUM  RESOURCES  233 

smaller  quantities  are  without  beneficial  effect.  It  is  highly  important 
that  the  medical  profession  should  also  have  some  guarantee  of  the 
material  they  purchase,  even  if  it  is  purchased  in  small  quantities, and 
I  am  glad  to  note  that  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Standards  is  preparing  to 
standardize  radium  preparations.  As  several  frauds  in  the  sale  of 
radium  have  already  been  perpetrated  upon  American  physicians, 
they  should  all  require  that  the  quality  of  the  material  purchased 
should  be  certified  under  conditions  which  prevent  error. 

In  closing,  I  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  I  am  authorized  by  the 
Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  to  announce  that  a  co-operative 
agreement  has  been  entered  into  with  the  newly  organized  National 
Radium  Institute,  whereby  the  Bureau  obtains  the  opportunity  of  a 
scientific  and  technological  study  of  the  mining  and  concentrating  of 
carnotite  ores  and  of  the  most  efficient  methods  of  obtaining  radium, 
vanadium,  and  uranium  therefrom,  with  a  view  to  increased 
efficiency  of  production  and  the  prevention  of  waste. 

The  National  Radium  Institute  was  recently  incorporated  with 
the  following  officers : 

Howard  A.  Kelly,  of  Baltimore,  President. 
Curtis  F.  Burnam,  of  Baltimore,  Vice-President. 
Archibald  Douglas,  of  New  York,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 
James  Douglas,  of  New  York,  and 
E.  J.  Maloney,  of  Wilmington, 

as  additional  Directors. 

The  Institute  has  no  connection  with  the  mining  of  pitchblende, 
details  of  which  recently  appeared  in  the  Denver  papers.  It  has, 
however,  obtained  the  right  to  mine  27  claims  in  the  Paradox  Valley 
region,  among  which  are  some  of  the  best  mines  in  this  richest 
radium-bearing  region  of  the  world.  Nearly  100  tons  of  high-grade 
carnotite  have  already  been  procured.  Under  the  agreement  with  the 
Bureau  of  Mines,  the  technical  operations  of  the  mines  and  mill  are 
to  be  guided  by  the  scientific  staff  of  the  Bureau.  Work  will  begin  in 
an  experimental  plant  to  be  erected  in  Colorado,  using  entirely  new 
methods  developed  at  the  Denver  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines.  Con- 
centration experiments  also  will  be  conducted  in  the  Paradox,  prob- 
ably at  the  Long  Park  claims,  and  if  successful  will  be  applied  to 
reducing  the  wastes  that  now  take  place.  Within  a  year  at  most,  the 
mill  operations  should  make  results  certain  and  the  extraction  of  ore 
and  production  of  radium  will  then  be  continued  on  a  larger  scale. 
The  separation  of  uranium  and  vanadium  will  also  be  studied,  a  con- 


234  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

tract  having  already  been  signed  for  all  of  these  by-products  that  may 
be  produced.  All  processes,  details  of  apparatus  and  plant,  and 
general  information  gained  will  be  published  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people. 

The  Institute  is  supplied  with  sufficient  funds  to  carry  out  its 
plans. 

The  Institute  has  been  formed  for  the  special  purpose  of  pro- 
curing enough  radium  to  conduct  extensive  experiments  in  radium 
therapy  with  special  reference  to  the  curing  of  cancer.  It  also  ex- 
pects to  carry  on  investigations  regarding  the  physical  characteristics 
and  chemical  effects  of  radium  rays  and  hopes  in  time  to  be  able  to 
assist  or  perhaps  even  duplicate  the  effects  of  these  rays  by  physical 
means. 

Actual  experience,  especially  of  the  Institute's  President,  in  the 
application  of  the  650  milligrams  of  radium  and  100  milligrams  of 
meso-thorium  already  in  his  possession,  have  led  him  and  his  asso- 
ciates to  believe  that  with  larger  supplies  many  of  the  variables  that 
cannot  now  be  controlled  may  be  fully  correlated,  and  that  radium 
may  become  the  most  effective  agent  for  the  treatment  of  cancer  and 
certain  other  malignant  diseases.  Important  results  have  already  been 
obtained  by  using  high  concentration  of  the  gamma  rays  of  radium 
with  the  alpha  rays  entirely  cut  off  and  the  beta  rays  largely 
eliminated.  Hospital  facilities  in  both  Baltimore  and  New  York  are 
already  supplied. 

The  activities  of  the  Institute  are  sure  to  be  of  benefit  to  the 
prospector  and  miner  by  providing  a  greater  demand  for  his  already 
rare  ore ;  to  the  plant  operator  by  developing  methods  and  by  creat- 
ing a  larger 'market  for  his  product;  and  to  the  people  by  assisting, 
and  possibly  by  succeeding,  in  controlling  the  most  malignant  of 
diseases.  The  radium  produced  is  intended  for  the  Institute's  own 
use  and  will  consequently  remain  at  home. 

The  Bureau  of  Mines  is  especially  fortunate  in  the  opportunity 
to  co-operate  in  the  technological  features  of  the  work  of  the  In- 
stitute. 


Workmen's  Compensation  vs.  Employers'  Liability. 

SAMUEL  A.  TAYLOR, 
PITTSBURGH,    PA. 


The  economic  problem  affecting  employers  and  employees 
has  been  before  the  public  for  a  long  time,  in  one  form  or  an- 
other. 

In  these  latter  times,  however,  the  main  questions  have 
been  largely  narrowed  down  to  the  two  stated  as  the  subject  of 
this  brief  paper. 

In  order  to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  matter  under 
consideration,  it  may  be  well  to  define  the  two  propositions. 
Workmen's  Compensation  is  the  title  given  to  a  system  of  com- 
pensation of  employees  for  injuries  sustained  in  connection  with 
their  employment,  or  to  their  dependents  in  case  of  death,  with- 
out any  consideration  as  to  whether  the  said  employees  who 
were  hurt  or  killed  did  or  did  not  contribute  by  their  own  neg- 
ligence, or  the  negligence  of  their  fellow  employees,  to  said  in- 
jury. 

By  Employers'  Liability,  we  understand  the  extent  to  which 
employers  are  liable,  as  damages,  to  employees  in  case  of  injury 
sustained  in  connection  with  their  employment,  or  to  their  de- 
pendents in  case  of  death,  usually  under  the  Common  Law,  and 
due  to  the  direct  negligence  of  the  employer,  which  also  carries 
with  it  the  risks  of  the  employment  and  the  negligence  of  fellow 
employees  or  the  contributory  negligence  of  the  injured  them- 
selves. 

This  latter  system  has  proved  so  unsatisfactory  both  to  the 
employer  and  employee,  that  in  certain  states,  through  political 
influence,  some  of  the  workmen  have  undertaken  to  remedy  this 
condition  by  passing  or  attempting  to  pass  legislation  taking 
away  the  defences  of  employers  to  suits  for  damages,  and  fix 
stipulated  amounts  to  be  paid  without  giving  the  employer  any 
consideration  whatever,  other  than  that  he  shall  pay  the  stipu- 
lated amount,  without  in  any  manner  raising  the  question  of 


236  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

responsibility  or  negligence  in  the  case.  In  most  cases  where 
these  employers'  liability  laws  have  been  passed,  they  result  in 
compulsory  action,  to  either  take  out  insurance  on  the  employees 
to  cover  the  unfair  demands  of  legislation,  or  to  combine  the 
employers  into  large  companies,  so  that  they  can  carry  their  own 
risk,  instead  of  having  the  insurance  companies  carry  it  at  an 
exorbitant  cost. 

Either  one  of  these  methods  is  against  the  best  interests  of 
an  industry  in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  parties  of  small  means.  For 
the  reason  that,  in  case  insurance  is  carried,  only  about  40%  of 
the  amount  paid  to  carry  the  same  reaches  the  parties  who 
should  benefit  thereby.  So  that  under  this  system  the  party  of 
small  capital  has  an  added  burden  to  compete  in  a  fair  market 
with  the  competitor  of  large  means,  as  his  insurance  to  protect 
himself  costs  him  about  two  and  a  half  times  as  much  as  his 
more  wealthy  competitor,  and  yet  he  cannot  afford  to  take  the 
risk  personally,  for  the  reason  that,  if  an  accident  similar  to  those 
which  sometime  occur,  would  take  place  in  his  plant,  it  would 
take  all  the  property  which  he  had  accumulated  to  satisfy  the 
demand  of  such  an  unfair  liability  as  is  imposed  upon  him  by 
law.  The  result  of  this  kind  of  legislation  is  to  compel  the  man 
of  limited  capital  to  stay  out  of  business  and  give  way  entirely 
to  men  of  large  means,  or  to  large  aggregations  of  capital ;  or,  if 
he  embark  as  an  employer,  to  run  the  risk  of  becoming  the  cus- 
todian of  the  employees'  families,  and  to  permit  his  own  to 
suffer,  which,  according  to  "Holy  Writ,"  puts  him  in  a  class 
worse  than  an  infidel.  All  of  which,  I  believe,  is  adverse  to  the 
best  interest  of  a  state  or  nation.  There  are  some  persons,  how- 
ever, who  are  opposed  to  any  form  of  Compensation  on  account 
of  its  being  class  legislation  and  socialistic  in  its  tendency,  and, 
theoretically,  this  argument  cannot  very  well  be  contradicted,  but 
over  against  this  is  the  business  and  humanitarian  side  of  the 
matter,  which  we  must  and  should  always  consider.  This, 
coupled  with  the  belief  by  many  that  each  industry  should  take 
care  of  those  dependent  on  the  same,  and  that  the  industry 
should  provide  compensation  for  those  dependent  upon  the 
employee  maimed  or  killed  in  connection  with  his  work,  at  or 
in  that  particular  industry,  has  made  some  form  of  Workmen's 
Compensation  quite  popular,  whether  it  can  be  maintained  as 
theoretically  correct  or  not. 


WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION  237 

Personally,  I  would  not  for  an  instant  desire  to  be  under- 
stood as  opposed  to  any  system  of  workmen's  compensation,  for 
the  directly  opposite  of  this  is  the  fact,  both  from  a  business  and 
humanitarian  standpoint,  and  I  am  on  record  before  this 
Congress,  as  well  as  other  associations,  as  an  advocate  of  a  fair 
compensation  measure  which  will  take  care  of  those  maimed  and 
the  dependents  of  those  killed  in  industrial  occupations. 

However,  I  think  a  system  can  be  worked  out  which  will 
entail  no  unfair  hardship  on  the  large  business,  as  against  the 
small  one,  and  no  particular  hardship  upon  the  employer,  while 
a  great  blessing  to  the  workmen  and  their  families.  I  think  this 
can  be  done  by  Workmen's  Compensation  rather  than  Employers' 
Liability,  as  shown  in  detail  in  the  working  out  of  the  compensa- 
tion acts  of  several  states,  such  as  Washington,  in  which  all  em- 
ployment is  classified  according  to  the  risk  of  that  employment, 
and  a  uniform  assessment  based  on  the  pay  roll  of  the  employees 
is  paid  into  a  fund  administered  by  a  State  Commission.  By 
this  method  all  persons  engaged  in  any  certain  business  know 
in  advance  what  the  cost  or  expense  will  be,  and  can  then  figure 
this  cost  into  the  cost  of  production,  and  the  consumer  of  the 
product,  whatever  it  may  be,  pays  for  it. 

Now  I  know  that  there  have  been  some  objections  raised 
even  to  this  method,  but  I  do  not  believe  that  any  great  objec- 
tion or  obstacle  can  be  raised  that  cannot  be  fairly  met  and  over- 
come, and  so  far  as  my  information  goes  the  states  which  have 
adopted  this  scheme  of  Workmen's  Compensation  instead  of 
Employers'  Liability  would  not  change  to  the  latter,  while  in 
several  states  where  Employers'  Liability  is  in  force,  and  not 
Workmen's  Compensation,  it  is  not  giving  the  same  degree  of 
satisfaction  to  both  employers  and  employees  as  is  being  ob- 
tained where  Workmen's  Compensation  is  practised. 

In  conclusion,  I  believe  that  very  few  employers  will  object 
to  a  Workmen's  Compensation  Law  which  will  enable  them  to 
take  care  of  their  employees  and  at  the  same  time  protect  their 
own  families  from  a  confiscation  of  their  property  or  profits, 
which  is  liable  to  occur  under  Employers'  Liability  Laws,  such 
as  have  been  passed  by  several  states,  and  which  have  fortu- 
nately been  defeated  in  some  other  states,  not  by  the  enemies  of 
the  working  man,  as  some  have  said,  but  because  the  public  are 
being  aroused  to  the  fact  that  any  legislation,  to  be  satisfactory, 
must  be  equitable  to  all  concerned. 


238  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  think  this  matter  of 
reports  could  be  so  simplified  and  made  so  conclusive  as  to  data 
required  that  but  one  report  need  be  made,  which  could  be  made 
to  the  State  Department  and  by  them  transmitted  to  the  other 
departments  which  want  to  use  them,  and  also  to  the  National 
Government,  and  by  so  doing  not  only  would  the  operator  be 
saved  a  great  expense  and  trouble,  but  the  Government,  both 
State  and  National,  be  saved  a  great  deal  of  money  in  duplica- 
tion of  work  which  there  is  no  necessity  for,  and  which  would 
not  be  tolerated  in  a  private  business  enterprise. 

This  could  be  accomplished,  if  the  U.  S.  Government, 
through  a  proper  channel  or  department,  be  authorized  to  co- 
operate with  a  properly  constituted  authority  in  each  state,  to 
the  end  that  one  uniform  report  be  made  which  would  embrace 
all  the  data  or  information  desired  by  all  parties  interested,  and 
fixing  the  time  and  place  where  such  a  report  would  be  filed ;  or, 
if  such  a  report  were  agreed  upon,  each  department  or  govern- 
ment could  be  furnished  a  copy  with  little  work  or  expense,  and 
the  value  of  having  such  a  uniform  report  for  the  purposes  of 
comparison  would  be  much  increased. 


Compensation   Laws   and   Accident   Prevention   Work. 

DAVID  ROSS, 
SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS. 


Contrary  to  popular  belief  laws  providing  compensation  for 
industrial  accidents,  including  diseases  incident  to  certain  occupa- 
tions, and  the  legal  principles  underlying  all  legislation  of  that  kind, 
are  not  of  recent  origin,  even  in  this  country.  The  opponents  of 
modern-day  enactments  on  such  subjects  raise  the  legal  objection 
that  an  attempt  to  place  responsibility  without  personal  or  corporate 
fault  involves  the  taking  of  property  without  due  process  of  law, 
and  that  all  legislation  of  that  nature  is  condemned  in  advance  as  a 
violation  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Constitution. 

There  is  no  disposition  to  question  the  great  legal  learning  of 
some  of  the  men  who  hold  such  opinions  or  to  doubt  their  familiarity 
with  the  obvious  facts  of  history.  Among  the  early  acts  of  the 
American  Congress  was  one  requiring  the  owners  of  every  vessel  of 
the  United  States  to  pay  into  a  given  fund,  controlled  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, a  fixed  sum  for  the  benefit  of  sick  and  disabled  seamen, 
regardless  of  the  fact  whether  or  not  the  Master  or  Owner  making 
the  payments  has  any  sick  or  disabled  seamen  who  take  advantage 
of  such  fund.  While  the  operation  of  that  law  has  frequently  been 
reviewed  by  the  United  States  Courts,  no  one  has  questioned  the 
right  of  the  Congress  under  the  Constitution  to  enact  such  laws 
even  while  theoretically  running  counter  to  the  "due  process" 
clause. 

The  same  principles  are  affirmed  in  the  statutes  holding  rail- 
road corporations  liable  for  injuries  to  property  caused  by  fire  and 
for  injuries  to  passengers,  regardless  of  negligence  or  fault ;  also 
statutes  holding  landlords  responsible  for  losses  resulting  from  in- 
toxication caused  by  the  sale  of  liquor  by  their  lessees.  These  an.d 
other  numerous  enactments  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  con- 
sidered and  approved  by  the  highest  courts  of  the  country. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  evidence  in  our  own  records  and 
court  decisions  to  warrant  the  application  of  a  like  principle  to  the 
losses  sustained  through  industrial  accidents.  In  all  the  cases,  with 
one  exception,  the  courts  have  sustained  the  Constitutionality  of 


240  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

laws  providing  compensation  for  work  accidents.  The  New  York 
Court  of  Appeals  in  its  ruling  in  the  Ives  case  stands  alone,  the  rea- 
sons for  its  conclusions,  after  full  consideration  being  rejected  by 
the  Supreme  Courts  of  four  other  States,  from  which  it  appears  that 
a  very  great  preponderance  of  judicial  opinions  are  favorable  to 
such  enactments. 

As  far  back  as  May  4,  1882,  the  Federal  Congress  passed  a 
compensation  law  'limited  to  certain  employees  in  the  Life  Saving 
Service.  The  act  applied  to  injuries  and  diseases,  and  provided  that 
the  victim  should  receive  full  pay  for  a  period  of  one  year,  if  the 
disability  continued  for  that  time,  and  in  certain  cases  the  period  of 
compensation,  with  the  approval  of  the  Secretary,  could  be  extended 
to  cover  two  years.  This  was  the  first  specific  act  announcing  the 
responsibility  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  injuries  and 
other  disabilities  occurring  to  those  employed  in  the  public  service. 
Since  then  laws  have  been  passed  extending  the  protection  of  such 
service  to  workmen  engaged  in  other  branches  of  the  Government — 
the  Railway  Mail  Service,  the  Lighthouse  Service,  Arsenals,  Navy 
Yards,  Manufacturing  Establishments,  Rivers  and  Harbors,  the 
Panama  Canal,  the  Forestry  Service,  and  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  the 
child  of  the  Mining  Congress. 

Over  100,000  Government  employees,  or  one- fourth  of  the  total 
number  engaged  in  the  public  service,  are  the  beneficiaries  of  these 
various  acts  of  Congress.  As  a  substitute  for  these  different  laws  a 
measure  introduced  by  Mr.  Kern,  of  Indiana,  now  pending  in  the 
Senate  with  prospects  for  its  early  passage,  has  for  its  purpose  the 
protection  of  all  Government  employees,  disabled  by  accident  or  oc- 
cupational disease.  This  measure  was  prepared  by  the  American 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  and  compared  with  former  acts, 
is  broad  and  liberal  in  its  provisions. 

Since  the  action  taken  by  this  Congress  at  its  session  at  Los 
Angeles  in  1910,  endorsing  the  policy  of  compensating  injured  work- 
men for  time  lost  on  account  of  accidents,  nearly  every  industrial 
State  in  the  Union  have  either  accepted,  or  are  considering,  the  plan 
and  in  every  instance  such  legislation  has  been  affected  through  the 
medium  of  Commissions  representing  the  employers,  the  employees 
and  the  public,  a  modern  method  of  law-making  that  commends 
itself  to  the  good  judgment  of  men. 

In  view  of  this  general  and  rapid  action,  those  who  were  in- 
clined to  criticise  the  American  people  for  their  apparent  indiffer- 


COMPENSATION  LAWS  241 

ence  on  this  subject,  and  for  lagging  behind  foreign  nations,  have 
now  no  cause  for  complaint.  If  we  can  only  restrain  our  enthusi- 
asm, and  possess  our  soul  in  patience,  we  will  become  satisfied  that 
the  American  people  can  be  relied  upon  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the 
right  time.  It  is  a  trite  saying  that  every  vicious  system  contains 
within  itself  the  seeds  of  its  own  destruction — the  lighted  fuse  will 
slowly  but  surely  burn  its  way  to  the  heart  of  the  loaded  charge, 
and  the  explosion  is  inevitable.  This  in  part  is  the  fate  that  has 
overtaken  the  administration  of  unlimited  liability  laws,  or  where 
legal  tribunals  are  appealed  to  in  the  adjustment  or  settlement  of 
industrial  claims. 

The  old  plan,  while  in  earlier  days  it  may  have  served  a  use- 
ful purpose,  fails  to  meet  modern  requirements,  and  only  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  fact  is  necessary  to  discard  it,  and  it  was  in  process  of 
elimination  years  prior  to  the  formal  passage  of  any  laws  on  the 
subject  as  evidenced  by  mutual  contracts  between  employers  and 
their  workmen,  containing  all  the  substantial  provisions  of  present- 
day  enactments.  These  laws  have  come  as  a  consequence  of  the 
nation-wide  conservation  movement  and  particularly  that  phase  of 
it  which  attaches  more  importance  to  human  than  to  natural  or  ma- 
terial resources.  Men  are  more  useful  than  minerals,  and  life  is 
more  valuable  than  property.  There  is  no  longer  any  serious  divi- 
sion of  opinion  regarding  the  principle  that  every  industry  should 
from  its  profits  make  good  its  losses  of  every  kind,  anything  short 
of  this  would  put  it  in  the  parasitic  class,  although  in  respect  to  ac- 
cidents, there  are  those  who  still  believe  that  in  the  matter  of 
operating  expenses,  there  is  a  difference  between  a  broken  man  and 
a  broken  machine,  and  resent  the  suggestion  that  the  business  should 
be  charged  for  repairs  in  both  instances.  The  proposition  in  every 
compensation  law  obligates  the  employers  accepting  it  (and  they 
are  all  optional,  except  in  the  State  of  Washington),  to  do  precisely 
that  thing;  moreover  it  is  not  only  the  most  humane,  but  the  most 
scientific  method  of  distributing  the  burden  of  such  breakage. 

A  disabling  accident  to  a  worker  is  a  social,  as  well  as  an 
industrial  loss  and  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  the  community  to  see  to 
it  that  it  is  made  good,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  providing  that  while 
recovering  he  shall  not  want  for  something  to  eat,  or  if  fatal,  that 
his  dependents  will  be  given  proper  care.  Such  obligations  have 
ever  been  a  part  of  our  relations  as  human  beings,  whether  savage  or 
civilized,  and  one  of  the  chief  and  most  commendable  objects  of 


242  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

compensation  laws  is  in  putting  the  discharge  of  such  duties  upon  an 
orderly,  sensible  and  business  basis.  They  relieve  labor  from  the 
humiliation  of  soliciting  alms,  and  the  disappointment  of  public 
charity,  and  employers  from  the  legal  conviction  of  criminal  negli- 
gence. They  take  from  the  common  law  its  merciless  limitations, 
provide  a  reasonable  measure  of  reparation  in  every  case,  and  place 
beyond  doubt  the  truth  of  the  legal  maxim  that  there  can  be  no 
wrong  for  which  there  is  not  a  proper  and  speedy  remedy. 

If  any  argument  was  needed  in  support  of  the  new  liability  leg- 
islation, it  could  be  summed  up  in  the  statement  that  those  who 
have  their  money  invested  in  productive  industry,  are  entitled  to 
know  in  a  more  or  less  detailed  way  the  amount  and  of  what  the 
costs  of  its  operation  consist.  This  is  impossible  under  any  system 
of  law  that  puts  it  within  the  province  of  a  jury  to  guess  whether 
the  liability  for  a  single  injury  shall  be  settled  by  the  payment  of  a 
sum  of  money  ranging  from  one  to  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  is 
contingencies  of  this  kind  that  compensation  laws  are  designed  to 
avoid,  besides  having  removed  the  causes  that  made  litiagtion  neces- 
sary. You  are  friends,  not  enemies ;  the  spirit  of  fraternity  and  co- 
operation is  developed,  which  will  later  express  itself  in  increased 
work,  efficiency,  and  that  will  bring  what  each  is  seeking,  viz.,  higher 
wages  and  greater  profits. 

This  Congress  should  in  no  uncertain  tone  declare  its  un- 
reserved acceptance  of  the  policy  of  compensation,  not  alone  as  ap- 
plying to  the  coal  and  metal  mines,  but  add  the  weight  of  its  endorse- 
ment in  favor  of  extending  its  benefits  to  include  every  industry 
in  the  land,  and  thus  aid  in  making  it  the  settled  and  permanent 
policy  of  the  nation. 

ACCIDENT  PREVENTION. 

No  issue  in  recent  years  has  interested  and  focused  public 
attention  like  the  safety  movement,  which  for  economic  and  hu- 
manitarian reasons,  makes  direct  appeal  to  our  sense  and  sympathy. 
No  more  worthy  cause  can  enlist  our  energetic  co-operation  than 
the  saving  of  life  and  limb,  and  the  field  is  broad  enough  to  employ 
the  services  of  all. 

It  is  a  matter  for  congratulation  to  know  that  the  people  of 
the  United  States  are  the  leaders  in  this  great  work,  and  logically 
so,  for  America,  excelling  in  all  things,  unfortunately  leads  the 
world  in  the  volume  of  its  industrial  casualties.  Statistical  experts 
report  that  35,000  people  are  killed  and  two  million  injured  annually 


COMPENSATION  LAWS  243 

in  this  country,  and  that  industrial  employments  are  responsible  for 
one-half  of  them.  If  these  figures  are  approximately  correct,  it  fol- 
lows that  every  thirty  minutes  of  every  working  day  a  man  is  killed, 
and  one  injured  every  thirty  seconds.  When  we  stop  to  consider 
that  this  is  only  a  part  of  the  price  we  are  paying  in  the  peaceful 
prosecution  of  industry,  the  ravages  of  war  seem  slight  in  contrast. 
It  ought  not  to  be  necessary  to  populate  grave  yards  in  order  to 
maintain  our  industrial  pre-eminence,  and  while  it  may  not  innure 
to  the  financial  interest  of  tombstone  manufacturers,  the  men  whose 
services  in  the  safety  movement  is  making  it  possible  to  open  fewer 
graves  on  this  account,  are  the  world's  real  saviors,  and  we  wish 
them  Godspeed  in  their  meritorious  undertaking. 

To  compensate  for  time  lost  because  of  an  accident  is  good,  to 
prevent  its  happening  is  better.  Can  all  accidents  be  prevented? 
No!  despite  the  utmost  care,  the  use  of  every  possible  safeguard, 
accidents  will  continue  to  occur  until  we  find  the  perfect  man,  and 
at  present,  he  is  nowhere  in  sight,  but  we  have  not  abandoned  the 
search,  yet  the  class  of  accidents — and  they  comprise  the  majority — 
that  result  from  omissions  of  plain  duty,  from  failure  to  observe 
laws  and  regulations,  from  indifference,  carelessness  and  negligence 
on  the  part  of  both  employers  and  workmen,  are  preventable,  and 
the  number  of  that  kind  have  in  recent  years  been  materially  re- 
duced, and  they  will  continue  to  diminish  in  proportion  as  the  work 
of  the  safety  campaign  advances.  This  is  all  that  can  reasonably  be 
expected  from  human  effort.  The  movement  for  greater  safety 
has  been  in  existence  long  enough  to  note  and  measure  its  effect. 

Holding  employers  financially  responsible  for  accidents,  with- 
out fault — as  all  compensation  acts  do — has  given  impetus  to  this 
question — another  argument  in  favor  of  such  legislation — but  it 
would  be  untrue  and  unfair  to  attribute  the  origin  of  safety  work 
to  that  cause  alone. 

For  some  years  prior  to  the  passage  of  such  laws  by  any  of  the 
States,  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  was  engaged  in  the  work 
of  accident  prevention — in  fact  it  was  the  author  of  the  plan  which 
has  been  copied  by  the  railroads  and  other  large  manufacturing 
plants.  Mr.  R.  J.  Young,  in  an  address  delivered  before  the  Illinois 
Manufacturers'  Association  of  last  May,  stated  that  the  "Records  of 
the  work  accomplished  by  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  in 
accident  prevention,  show  that  approximately  2,300  men  are  being 
saved  from  serious  injury  or  death  each  year,  using  as  a  basis 


244  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINIXG  CONGRESS 

the  present  status  of  the  work  as  compared  with  the  conditions  ex- 
isting in  1906." 

At  the  Safety  Congress  held  last  October  at  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, R.  C.  Richards  of  the  North  Westren  Railroad,  operating 
under  the  same  safety  plan  as  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation, 
reported  that  in  twenty  months  it  had  reduced  by  51  per  cent,  the 
number  of  trainmen  killed,  and  by  42  per  cent,  the  number  of  the 
same  class  injured. 

Mr.  G.  L.  Avery  of  the  A  very  Company,  a  large  manufacturer 
of  agricultural  implements,  employing  800  men,  reports  that  at  the 
close  of  the  first  compensation  year  under  its  safety  plan,  they  had 
no  serious  injuries,  but  45  men  were  injured  during  the  year,  and 
but  28  of  them  were  idle  long  enough  to  receive  compensation — 
that  the  company  paid  out  to  injured  employees  during  the  year 
the  sum  of  $223.93 — the  largest  check  for  compensation  was  for 
$32.41,  and  the  smallest  for  78  cents,  and  that  in  consequence  of 
this  record  they  had  been  given  credit  by  the  insurance  companies. 
Mr.  Avery  believes,  as  the  others  do,  that  prevention  work  pays. 

R.  L.  Drake,  secretary  of  the  Industrial  Commission  of  Michi- 
gan, reports  that  during  the  first  year  of  compensation  under  safety 
methods,  which  the  law  encourages,  the  number  of  fatal  accidents 
was  reduced  one-half,  and  the  number  of  non-fatal  from  one  hun- 
dred to  less  than  sixty-five  per  day. 

In  an  address  delivered  by  Thomas  Moses,  superintendent  of 
the  Bunsen  Coal  Company,  and  formerly  a  State  mine  inspector,  at 
the  Fuel  Conference  at  Havana,  Illinois,  last  May,  reported  that  the 
record  of  the  mines  under  his  supervision  for  nine  years  previous 
to  the  inauguration  of  "Safety  First"  as  a  motto,  was  one  fatal  ac- 
cident to  every  188,387  tons  of  coal  mined;  last  year  they  had  one 
fatal  accident  to  every  329,474  tons,  showing  an  increase  of  192,022 
tons  of  coal  produced  per  fatal  accident.  He  called  attention  to 
another  significant  fact,  that  since  accepting  the  compenstaion  law, 
an  increase  of  10.8  per  cent,  in  miners'  wages  had  taken  place,  but 
that  notwithstanding  the  labor  cost  per  ton  in  producing  coal  was 
less  than  it  was  the  year  previous  to  introducing  "Safety  First"  as 
a  slogan.  The  safety  plan  in  force  at  these  mines  is  that  of  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation,  of  which  they  are  a  part.  Over 
50  per  cent,  of  mine  accidents  result  from  falling  coal  and  rock,  a 
source  of  danger  to  which  the  miner  is  constantly  exposed,  and 
from  which  he  can  have  no  protection,  except  his  knowledge  of  the 


COMPENSATION  LAWS  245 

nature  of  the  w,ork  and  through  the  exercise  of  extreme  care. 
Ability  and  caution  are  the  chief  available  safeguards  for  this  class 
of  workmen,  and  sometimes  these  fail. 

The  plan  in  operation  at  these  mines  provides  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  competent  experienced  miners,  who  are  assigned  to  super- 
vise a  certain  number  of  men,  most  of  whom  are  unable  to  speak  or 
understand  the  English  language,  to  see  that  props  are  placed  where 
they  are  required,  or  loose  material  taken  down,  that  holes  for  blast- 
ing are  properly  located  and  drilled,  and  that  the  general  laws  and 
regulations  of  the  mine  are  observed.  In  addition  to  these  expe- 
rienced employees,  the  company  selects  a  mine  committee,  changing 
them  every  week  and  paying  regular  wages,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
make  a  thorough  inspection  of  the  entire  mine  and  report  dangerous 
conditions,  if  any,  with  suggestions  for  their  removal.  Through 
this  plan,  the  company  has  succeeded  in  arousing  the  interest  of 
their  employees  in  accident  prevention  work,  and  much  rivalry  has 
been  created  among  the  members  of  the  different  committees  to 
determine  which  of  them  can  make  the  greater  number  of  safety 
recommendations.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  interest  ex- 
pressed by  the  workers  in  those  mines  in  co-operation  with  the  man- 
agement, is  responsible  for  the  very  notable  accident  reduction, 
and  that  in  order  to  realize  and  improve  on  such  results  the  active 
co-operation  of  employees  must  everywhere  be  secured,  and  to 
that  end  it  is  necessary  to  fully  impress  upon  their  minds  the  all 
important  part  they  have  to  perform  in  this  new  service.  Here, 
as  in  other  respects,  the  initial  duty  rests  with  the  employer.  He 
must  give  evidence  of  the  faith  that  is  in  him ;  of  his  sincere  belief 
in  the  plan ;  of  his  willingness  to  make  the  required  sacrifice  of 
time  and  money  to  introduce  it,  and  with  these  guarantees,  it  will 
make  easier  the  conversion  and  co-operation  of  the  workers,  who 
will  and  must  be  the  chief  beneficiaries  of  such  a  plan. 

A  great  deal  has  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  preventing 
accidents  through  the  invention  and  installation  of  safeguards. 
Modern  machinery  cannot  be  operated  safely  without  them,  and  they 
are  exceedingly  valuable  also  because  their  presence  is  a  palpable 
guarantee  of  the  good  faith  of  the  employer,  of  his  earnest  desire 
to  do  his  part  in  the  prevention  of  accidents.  One  of  the  most  en- 
couragaing  signs  of  the  safety  movement  is  the  increasing  practice 
of  employers  specifying,  in  asking  for  bids  for  new  equipment,  or 
in  placing  orders,  that  every  possible  safeguard  be  incorporated  in 


246  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

the  machine  at  the  time  of  its  manufacture.  This,  is  the  time  for 
safeguarding  machinery  in  many  essential  details.  Sometimes  the 
safeguarding  can  be  done  only  at  this  time,  always  can  it  be  done 
better  and  more  cheaply.  If  machines  were  all  safeguarded  as  fully 
as  possible  at  the  time  of  their  making,  not  only  would  much  more 
safeguarding  be  done,  but  the  bad  practice  of  removing  safeguards 
would  be  diminished.  Workmen  would  come  more  quickly  and 
more  generally  to  consider  the  safeguards  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  machine.  The  temptation  to  tamper  would  not  be  the  same 
as  with  the  home-made  devices. 

There  are  many  factors  in  the  accident  prevention  problem, 
and,  important  as  safeguards  are,  they  are  only  a  part  of  the  work 
which  must  be  done  if  we  are  to  obtain  results  really  worth  having. 
Safeguards  can  prevent  many  accidents,  especially  of  the  more  se- 
rious kinds,  and  they  can  diminish  the  results  of  many  which  they 
cannot  altogether  avoid,  but  in  the  last  analysis  it  is  the  man,  the 
man  at  the  top,  the  man  at  the  bottom,  the  man  all  the  way  down 
the  line,  to  whom  we  must  look  for  the  prevention  of  a  very  large 
percentage  of  the  accidents  which  are  at  all  preventable.  Much 
depends  upon  the  manager  and  the  organization  of  the  directing 
force ;  plenty  of  room,  in  the  case  of  a  factory,  and  an  ample  supply 
of  light ;  on  rigid  and  regular  inspections  of  all  conditions  and  ap- 
pliances; the  careful  selection  and  proper  instruction  of  workmen; 
in  advertising  and  enforcing  rules ;  in  providing  washing  and  toliet 
facilities;  taking  care  of  the  health  and  promoting  the  physical 
comfort  of  employees ;  and  last  and  possibly  most  important,  instill- 
ing into  the  minds  of  all,  the  prime  requisites  of  caution  and  care. 
None  of  these  requirements,  essential  to  the  safe  conduct  of 
industry,  fall  within  the  function  or  province  of  a  mechanical  safe- 
guard, and  they  are  all  needed  in  the  successful  prosecution  of 
present-day  work. 

In  furthering  the  purpose  of  accident  prevention,  we  are  deeply 
indebted  to  the  States  through  their  various  factory  inspection  de- 
partments, despite  the  fact  that  they  are  hampered  through  lack 
of  funds ;  to  the  activities  of  great  corporations  like  the  Crane 
Company,  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  International  Harvester 
Company,  and  the  railroads  which  within  an  incredible  short  time 
have  placed  more  than  half  the  total  mileage  of  the  country  under 
the  "safety  movement"  plan. 

A  statement  of  the  value  of  the  work  in  which  accident  pre- 


COMPENSATION  LAWS  247 

vention  agencies  are  engaged  would  not  be  complete  without  a  refer- 
ence to  the  part  now  being  taken  in  this  worthy  cause  by  the  differ- 
ent insurance  companies,  and  particularly  the  Accident  Bureau  of 
the  y£tna  Life  Insurance  Company,  which,  in  conjunction  with 
other  like  interests,  is  not  only  making  a  special  study  of  these 
questions,  but  so  far  as  insurance  under  workmen's  compensation 
laws  are  concerned,  have  changed  in  many  respects  former  business 
methods.  This  and  other  companies  maintain  for  business  reasons, 
a  large  and  experienced  corps  of  competent,  high-grade  inspectors, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  plants  of  their  clients  are  kept  up 
to  standard — not  only  that,  but  that  the  law  and  recommendaions 
relating  to  safety  of  employees  is  observed,  thus  supplementing  the 
efforts  of  the  State  inspectors-  as  to  law  enforcement. 

The  latest  departure  in  the  work  of  these  agencies  is  in  stand- 
ardizing and  classifying  risks  for  insurance  purposes.  For  years 
the  fire  insurance  companies  have  rated  fire  risks  on  a  schedule, 
starting  with  a  base  rate  for  the  class  of  business  and  adding 
charges  for  all  conditions  which  were  below  a  certain  fixed  standard 
and  giving  credits  for  certain  features  above  fixed  standards. 

The  liability  insurance  companies,  however,  have  rated  all 
liability  risks  by  classification,  all  risks  falling  in  a  given  class 
taking  the  same  rate  without  regard  to  the  .condition  in  a  given 
plant. 

That  this  method  was  unfair  to  the  employer,  who  had  spent 
considerable  money  to  safeguard  his  plant,  by  giving  his  factory  the 
same  rate  as  another  factory  doing  the  same  class  of  work,  but  in 
which  no  improvements  had  been  made  and  in  which  everything 
was  in  a  neglected  and  carelessly  kept  condition,  was  acknowledged 
by  practically  everyone  who  gave  any  thought  to  the  question.  More- 
over, under  the  old  liability  laws  the  verdicts  rendered  by  different 
juries  were  so  varied  for  practically  the  same  injuries,  that  any 
scientific  method  of  rating  would  be  most  difficult  to  apply. 

With  the  introduction  of  compensation  laws  where  the  em- 
ployer is  compelled  to  pay  a  certain  fixed  amount  for  each  injury, 
it  became  entirely  feasible  to  establish  a  schedulue  of  debits  and 
credits  for  variation  from  definite  standards,  which  would  give 
an  equitable  rate  based  on  the  merits  of  each  risk. 

The  problem  of  working  out  such  a  schedule,  was,  however, 
such  a  large  one  and  involved  such  radical  changes  in  long  estab- 
lished methods  that  underwriters  generally  were  reluctant  to  under- 


248  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

take  the  task.  In  the  early  part  of  1911,  however,  the  yEtna  de- 
cided to  "Blaze  the  Trail"  and  adopt  a  merit  rating  plan.  After 
several  months  of  work  a  new  inspection  report  was  prepared 
which  brought  out  the  details  necessary  for  rating  purposes  and  a 
tentative  schedule  was  adopted.  The  first  schedule  was  for  use  in 
rating  furniture  factories  and  after  the  first  draft  was  completed 
two  inspectors  were  sent  to  Grand  Rapids  and  the  schedule  was 
tried  out  in  about  thirty  furniture  factories.  After  this  trial  the 
schedule  was  revised  and  again  tried  out.  Schedules  were  then  pre- 
pared for  other  classes  and  these  schedules  have  since  been  used 
by  the  ^Etna  in  determining  rates. 

Within  the  last  few  months  the  Workmen's  Compensation  and 
Service  Bureau  has  approved  the  Merit  Rating  System  and  a  Merit 
Rating  Department  has  been  installed  as  a  branch  of  the  Bureau, 
with  Mr.  Carl  M.  Hansen,  a  trained  safety  engineer,  as  secretary. 

This  Department  will  promulgate  standards  and  schedules  for 
rating  and  will  employ  a  corps  of  inspectors  who  will  carefully 
inspect  each  plant  and  the  rate  on  each  plant  will  be  governed  by  the 
condition  found  in  that  individual  risk. 

This  method  of  rating  cannot  fail  to  be  appreciated  by  the 
employer  who  is  interested  in  accident  prevention.  It  will  also 
doubtless  be  the  means  of  inspiring  much  safeguarding  work,  for 
many  employers  will  see  the  advantage  of  providing  proper  safe- 
guards if  by  so  doing  their  insurance  rate  is  reduced. 

Delegates  to  this  Convention  represent,  next  to  railroading,  the 
most  hazardous  industry  of  the  country,  and  there  are  none  to 
whom  this  principle  of  the  safety  movement  can  make  such  a  strong 
appeal.  The  nation  and  State  has  made  ample  provision  through 
its  rescue  methods  to  relieve  distress  and  save  life  in  the  event  of 
great  disasters — but  in  respect  to  the  ordinary  causes  of  danger  so 
fruitful  of  accidents — they  are  beyond  the  watchful  eye  of  either 
State  or  nation,  and  the  dangers  that  lurk  in  the  darkness  of  the 
mines  and  that  everywhere  surround  and  beset  our  army  of  brave 
miners  can  only  in  a  measure  be  guarded  against  by  a  personal 
appeal  to  those  exposed,  and  by  constantly  repeating  the  warning — 
CARE— MORE  CARE— SAFETY  FIRST— SAFETY  LAST- 
SAFETY  ALL  THE  TIME. 


Use  of  Concrete  in  Mine  Operation. 

E.  C.  SARGENT, 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS. 


A  prominent  mining  engineer  in  writing  for  The  Engineering 
Magazine  several  years  ago  stated  that:  "As  a  general  rule,  there 
is  nothing  at  any  mine  in  the  way  of  surface  structures,  that  cannot 
be  made,  and  better  made,  of  concrete  than  of  any  other  material." 
Since  the  appearance  of  that  article  the  uses  of  this  valuable  building 
material  have  been  so  greatly  added  to,  in  and  around  mining 
plants,  that  the  statement  may  now  be  made  to  include  practically  all 
mine  structures  both  surface  and  underground. 

Its  adaptability  makes  concrete  particularly  valuable  to  the 
mine  operator,  for  in  few  lines  of  work  are  to  be  found  more 
unusual  conditions  which  require  special  treatment.  Here  is  a 
material  with  which  the  least  skilled  can  obtain  very  satisfactory 
results,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  skilled  lends  itself  to  the  attaining 
of  most  wonderful  results.  In  the  article  before  mentioned,  in 
describing  the  difficulties  of  constructing  conical  tanks  of  timber, 
the  author  says:  "For  the  concrete  man  these  difficulties  do  not 
arise;  he  has  no  bounds  of  shape,  nor  size,  nor  position,  nor  is  he 
called  upon  to  handle  material  of  unusual  dimensions,"  etc.  This 
comparison  is  not  limited  to  tanks,  but  examples  showing  the 
superior  adaptability  of  concrete  are  numerous,  and  some  of  these 
will  be  here  considered. 

One  of  the  most  common  types  of  concrete  construction  in 
mine  operation  is  shaft  lining,  the  superiority  of  concrete  over 
timber  for  this  purpose  cannot  be  contradicted.  It  is  fireproof, 
durable  and  waterproof,  qualities  especially  to  be  desired  in  a  shaft 
lining,  moreover  its  installation  offers  little  more  difficulty  than  that 
of  a  timber  lining.  Its  first  cost  will  doubtless  in  most  localities  ex- 
ceed that  of  a  timber  lining  but  its  permanence  and  freedom  from 
maintenance  charges  as  compared  with  timber  makes  it  much  the 
more  economical  in  the  long  run.  Its  indestructibility  by  fire  adds 
greatly  to  the  safety  of  the  workmen  and  the  advantage  of  keeping 
water  out  of  the  hoistway,  especially  in  colder  climates,  is  apparent 


250  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

to  all.  Furthermore  where  strength  is  required  in  a  shaft  lining,  it 
is  more  easily  obtainable  with  concrete,  the  stresses  usually  being 
compressive  and  concrete  being  practically  adapted  for  use  in  com- 
pression. 

Of  particular  interest  are  the  methods  employed  in  lining  shafts 
with  concrete.  These  vary  from  simple  poured  monolithic  linings 
to  extensive  systems  of  unit  construction.  The  manner  of  sinking 
in  many  cases  is  also  of  unusual  interest. 

In  1908  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  Company,  at  its  Woodward  Colliery 
directly  opposite  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  used 
the  rein  forced-concrete  open  caisson  method  to  penetrate  the  wet 
porous  overlying  strata  of  earth.  This  was  carried  to  a  depth  of  80 
feet  through  layers  of  sand,  gravel  and  quicksand,  the  nearness  of 
the  river  in  any  event  would  have  necessitated  some  special  method. 
Briefly  the  process  was  as  follows :  A  cutting  edge  or  shoe  made  up 
of  three-quarter  inch  plates  32  inches  high  and  reinforced  with 
angles,  was  assembled  and  located  on  the  site  of  the  shaft.  Timber 
forms  were  then  put  in  place,  the  reinforcing  material  installed  and 
the  concrete  deposited  to  a  height  of  20  feet,  when  the  forms  were 
removed  and  the  caissons  prepared  for  sinking,  the  sinking  being 
done  by  simply  digging  out  the  earth  as  is  usual  with  the  open 
caisson  method.  Three  sections  of  form  were  used.  The  walls  vary 
from  7  feet  in  thickness  on  the  long  side  by  5  feet  on  the  ends  to  a 
uniform  thickness  of  2  feet  8  inches  all  around  on  the  top,  accom- 
plished by  stepping  back  on  the  inner  face.  This  work  is  fully  de- 
scribed in  Engineering  News  of  September  24,  1908. 

A  shaft  lining  of  more  recent  construction  is  that  of  the  Ham- 
ilton Shaft  of  the  Oliver  Iron  Mining  Company  at  Iron  Mountain, 
Michigan,  a  description  of  which  was  published  in  Engineering  and 
Mining  Journal  of  October  11,  1913. 

This  is  a  combination  of  unit  and  monolithic  design,  reinforced 
concrete  dividers,  end  plates,  partition  slabs  and  poured  concrete 
sidewalks.  The  units  were  manufactured  and  stored  until  properly 
aged  in  a  building  constructed  for  this  purpose.  The  concrete  plant 
was  unusually  complete  consisting  of  two  Smith  No.  1  mixers,  a 
complete  gravel  screening  plant,  storage  pockets  for  the  aggregates, 
cars  provided  with  beds  for  measuring  quantities  of  aggregates  and 
well  arranged  trackage  for  handling  materials  to  mixers,  and  con- 
crete to  shaft  for  the  sidewalks.  All  mixing  was  done  on  the  surface 
and  concrete  discharged  from  mixers  into  cars  having  an  outlet  lit 


USE  OF  CONCRETE  IN  MINE  OPERATION  251 

the  bottom.  These  cars  were  lowered  on  the  cages  to  the  proper 
level  in  the  shaft  where  they  discharged  into  a  revolving  chute 
attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  cage,  the  chutes  reaching  to  the  point 
of  application  in  the  wall.  The  lining  was  carried  on  in  sections 
beginning  in  each  case  on  permanent  steel  bearers,  on  the  concrete 
beams  resting  on  these  were  placed  the  steel  forms  for  retaining  the 
concrete  of  the  walls,  on  top  the  steel  forms  rested  the  next  set  of 
beams.  This  being  carried  on  to  the  top  of  the  section,  usually  200 
feet  in  height.  The  average  rate  of  progress  was  about  57  feet  per 
month.  Much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  removing  the  old  timber 
lining  which  cut  the  preliminary  estimate  of  100  feet  per  month  to 
the  above  figure.  A  1:2:4  mixture  of  cement,  sand  and  gravel  was 
used. 

The  thickness  of  lining  was  variable,  large  opening  back  of  the 
lining  was  filled  with  boulders  and  grouted  in  making  practically  a 
solid  concrete  wall  of  7  or  8  feet  thickness  in  places.  It  has  been 
necessary  in  the  past  to  reline  this  shaft  practically  every  third  year 
when  timber  was  used. 

'Another  interesting  example  of  concrete  shaft  lining  to  be  found 
in  the  iron  country  is  located  at  the  Loretta  mine,  Loretta,  Michigan. 
Here  the  unit  system  has  been  followed  entirely.  Concrete  members 
were  cast  in  shapes  resembling  timbers  sawed  to  be  used  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  lining  was  carried  downward,  a  set  of  these  con- 
crete timbers  was  hitched  into  the  wall  of  the  shaft  and  several  sets 
suspended  from  these.  These  sets  were  separated  by  studdles.  Into 
notches  were  fitted  the  reinforced  slabs,  2  inches  in  thickness,  for 
lining  and  rock  from  the  shaft  into  the  opening  back  of  these  to  hold 
them  in  place.  A  building  was  provided  for  manufacturing  and 
storing  the  units  until  properly  aged.  This  system  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  permitting  future  extensions  in  the  most  simple  manner 
possible,  as  deepening  of  the  shaft  becomes  necessary. 

The  Penn  Iron  Mining  Company  has  made  use  of  a  monolithic 
concrete  lining  circular  in  section,  14  feet  in  diameter,  at  their  Brier 
Hill  mine  at  Vulcan,  Michigan.  A  1:3:6  mixture  was  used  of 
cement,  sand  and  crushed  stone.  The  average  thickness  of  wall  was 
18  inches.  Steel  forms  were  used  in  concreting,  made  of  one-eighth 
inch  plates  suitably  braced  with  angles.  One  round  of  four  forms 
had  a  height  of  5  feet  4  inches  and  two  pounds  were  used.  No 
attempt  was  made  to  make  this  shaft  water-tight  and  consequently 


252  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

there  is  a  little  seepage.    This  work  will  be  found  fully  detailed  in 
Engineering  and  Contracting,,  March  2,  1910. 

Costs  are  given  as  follows:  Surface,  two  ledge,  62  feet, 
$104.01.  Ledge  to  seventh  level,  549.5  feet,  $76.28  per  foot. 
Seventh  level  down,  85.84  feet,  $89.19  per  foot. 

The  H.  C.  Frick  Coal  &  Coke  Company  constructed  a  concrete 
lining  in  their  shaft  at  Filbert,  Pa.,  and  the  accompanying  views 
show  the  collapsible  steel  forms  in  place  and  the  finished  shaft 
lining  at  the  surface.  The  steel  head  frame  foundations  are  made 
part  of  the  lining  at  the  surface.  Concrete  gutters  were  built  at 
several  points  circling  the  shaft  back  of  the  lining  to  take,  care  of 
the  water,  these  had  outlets  to  a  pipe  in  the  shaft. 

The  concrete  lining  for  shafts  has  much  to  recommend  it  and 
that  the  fact  is  being  recognized  by  mine  management  is  evident  by 
the  numerous  examples  of  this  type  of  construction. 

In  the  State  of  Illinois  the  installation  of  concrete  or  other 
permanent  linings  is  made  compulsory  by  law  in  the  case  of  new 
openings. 

There  are  few  districts  that  do  not  have  at  least  one  example 
of  concrete  lined  shaft. 

Closely  related  to  the  shaft  is  the  drift  mouth  and  many  inter- 
esting forms  of  concrete  portals  have  been  developed.  This  subject 
can  best  be  presented  by  use  of  a  few  illustrations  and  the  following- 
list  gives  a  comprehensive  idea  of  the  possibilities  of  concrete  for 
this  purpose. 

The  lining  of  roadways  with  concrete  is  becoming  more  com- 
mon. This  is  both  a  protection  to  the  roof  and  to  the  workmen 
where  the  roof  is  at  all  bad  and  the  roadways  are  kept  free  of  falls, 
saving  a  considerable  expense.  The  resistance  to  air  circulation  is 
also  appreciably  reduced.  Practice  varies  from  simple  slabs  resting 
on  beams  to  concrete  arches  with  and  without  reinforcement.  The 
Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company  has  lined  its  main  haulage-ways 
with  cinder  concrete  arches  for  several  hundred  feet  in  either 
direction  from  the  shaft  bottom,  and  in  the  same  locality  the  Tower 
Hill  Connellsville  Coke  Company  is  using  the  same  system.  In  the 
anthracite  and  iron  fields  much  of  this  construction  is  being  done 
as  well  as  in  the  bituminous  fields.  The  accompanying  illustrations 
give  a  clear  idea  of  this  class  of  construction. 

In  this  connection  a  very  interesting  development  in  roof  pro- 
tection may  be  here  mentioned.  At  the  Vandalia  No.  10  at  Linton, 


USE  OF  CONCRETE  IN  MINE  OPERATION        253- 

Indiana,  Mr.  Arthur  Symms  has  adopted  a  modification  of  the 
cement  gun  for  coating  the  mine  roof  with  rich  cement  grout.  This 
system  after  several  months'  use  has  been  found  to  give  excellent 
satisfaction,  falls  which  were  common  have  been  practically  elimi- 
nated and  in  many  cases  props  are  no  longer  necessary.  The  outfit 
is  simple  consisting  of  air  compressor,  receiving  tank,  cement  tank 
and  atomizer,  all  mounted  on  a  set  of  mine. car  wheels,  making  it 
easy  to  transport  from  place  to  place.  It  is  claimed  this  device 
can  be  used  for  fighting  fire  very  effectively. 

Surface  structures  of  concrete  do  not  offer  any  special  difficul- 
ties and  there  are  numerous  examples.  Some  of  these  are  of 
interest  as  types  and  the  following  views  are  of  more  than  passing 
interest. 

Probably  one  of  the  most  extensive  surface  structures  under- 
taken in  reinforced  concrete  in  connection  with  a  mine  is  the  coal 
breaker  and  washery  of  the  D.,  L  &  W.  Company  at  Taylor,  Pa.,  near 
Scranton.  This  view  gives  some  idea  of  its  immensity  of  roof  and 
is  167  feet  from  bottom  of  foundation  to  highest  point  of  roof  and 
in  its  construction  5000  cubic  yeards  of  concrete  and  500  tons  of  steel 
bars  were  used.  In  this  building  are  operating  in  the  neighborhood 
of  thirty  shaker  screens,  several  roll  crushers,  jigs,  etc.,  producing 
tremendous  vibratory  stresses.  Reinforced  concrete  has  shown  in 
this  case  that  it  can  take  care  of  these  stresses  in  a  most  satisfactory 
manner.  At  the  time  the  writer  inspected  this  building,  almost  a 
year  after  it  was  put  in  use,  it  was  giving  entire  satisfaction. 

The  following  views  illustrate  a  method  of  fireproof  construc- 
tion at  a  comparatively  low  cost.  These  buildings  are  constructed 
of  steel  and  enclosed  with  cement  mortar  on  metal  lath. 

The  next  views  indicate  the  possibility  of  concrete  for  coal 
storage  pockets. 

The  housing  question  is  an  important  one  to  the  mine  operator 
and  no  material  meets  his  needs  so  well  as  concrete,  as  is  illustrated 
in  this  view.  These  houses  located  near  Naticoke,  Pa.,  and  owned 
by  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  Company  are  fireproof,  sanitary  and  durable. 
They  present  a  pleasing  appearance  and  do  not  necessarily  require 
painting.  These  houses  were  poured  in  steel  forms  at  a  cost  of 
from  $3600.00  to  $4000.00  each.  They  have  six  rooms  to  a  side  with 
large  porch  to  both  first  and  second  floors. 

Concrete  has  no  superior  for  use  in  power  houses  and  sub- 
stations. Their  fireproofness  is  one  of  the  strongest  recommenda- 


254  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

tions  for  its  use  for  this  purpose.  In  this  sub-station  of  the  U. 
S.  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  Gary,  West  Virginia,  a  large  motor 
armature  and  field  were  completely  destroyed  by  fire  with  hardly 
any  perceptible  effect  on  the  concrete  building. 

The  storage  of  explosives  inside  or  out  of  the  mine  can  be  taken 
care  of  in  a  concrete  building. 

This  view  indicates  a  wide  use  for  concrete  in  connection  with 
the  saving  of  steel  head  frames.  The  tendency  towards  corrosion 
augmented  by  the  mine  air  and  gases  in  the  coke  district  by  the 
fumes  from  the  oven  has  not  been  successfully  stayed  by  the  use  of 
paint.  In  this  application  of  a  concrete  coating  to  this  head  frame 
of  the  Republic  Iron  &  Steel  Company,  Republic,  Pa.,  the  problem 
seems  to  be  solved. 

These  reinforced  concrete  buildings  located  at  the  Woodward 
Colliery  of  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  Company,  near  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa., 
illustrate  the  highest  type  of  mine  building  construction. 

After  two  fires,  which  in  each  case  completely  destroyed  their 
surface  works,  the  Black  Diamond  Company  of  Lathrop,  Ohio, 
determined  to  take  no  further  chances  and  the  accompanying  views 
show  the  outcome  of  this  determination. 

The  heart  of  the  ventilating  system  is  the  fan  and  driving 
motor  or  engine.  Their  safe  housing  ofttimes  means  life  to  the 
workmen  inside.  There  is  always  a  possibility  of  fire  at  this  point 
especially  where  electric  current  is  used  for  operation,  a  sparking 
motor  has  shut  down  many  a  mine.  The  disabling  of  the  ventilation 
by  fire  in  the  fan  house  can  never  happen  when  the  building  material 
is  concrete.  The  following  views  show  how  simply  this  proposition 
can  be  taken  care  of. 

This  air  supply  may  be  guarded  within  the  mine  also  by  the 
use  of  concrete  as  illustrated  by  view  of  a  concrete  overcast  used 
by  the  H.  C.  Frick  Co.,  at  their  Phillips  mine.  Its  construction 
is  simple  and  its  work  effective.  This  is  a  combination  of  steel 
and  concrete  but  complete  concrete  construction  would  be  as  easily 
accomplished.  Air  leakage  through  defective  stoppings  when  the 
workings  become  extended  is  liable  to  prove  a  serious  menace  in 
the  operation  of  the  ventilating  system.  This  trouble  can  be  fore- 
stalled by  the  use  of  concrete  stopping.  These  may  be  constructed 
either  monolithically  or  of  blocks.  In  some  cases  it  has  been  found 
most  convenient  to  manufacture  an  ordinary  building  block  of 
cinder  concrete  for  this  purpose.  In  one  case  a  saving  of  $3.00  per 


USE  OF  CONCRETE  IN  MINE  OPERATION  255 

stopping  has  been  effected  by  using  concrete  instead  of  brick. 
Brick  stoppings  were  costing  $11.00  and  the  concrete  stoppings, 
made  of  cement  block,  were  installed  at  a  cost  of  $8.00.  It  is  said 
the  cement  gun,  before  mentioned  in  this  article  as  being  used  in 
connection  with  roof  protection,  is  well  adapted  to  the  construction 
of  stoppings  by  simply  applying  a  spray  of  cement  grout  to  wire 
cloth.  This  makes  an  effective  air  stopping  but  would  be  of  little 
value  in  withstanding  any  strain. 

The  building  of  dams  and  bulk  heads  involves  no  intricate  de- 
tails and  concrete  has  long  been  used  for  this  purpose.  The  use  of 
concrete  for  fire  walls  is  well  and  favorably  known  to  those  engaged 
in  mining  coal. 

Inside  buildings  are  practically  all  along  the  same  lines  as 
shown  by  the  following  views.  Pumping  stations,  magazines,  shops, 
foremen's  offices,  emergency  hospitals  and  stables  present  little 
difference  in  details  of  construction.  As  can  be  seen  their  erection 
is  simple  and  their  usefulness  is  apparent  to  all. 

An  interesting  application  of  concrete  to  the  handling  of  iron 
ore  is  here  illustrated.  The  Columbus  branch  of  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Co.  found  it  a  difficult  matter  to  maintain  its  wooden  trestles 
through  the  ore  storage  piles.  They  resorted  to  the  use  of  con- 
crete in  the  manner  here  illustrated  with  complete  success.  A  very 
interesting  application  of  cement  in  mine  work  is  to  be  found  in 
the  sinking  of  a  shaft  at  Coalwood,  West  Virginia.  A  quicksand 
was  to  be  penetrated  presenting  the  usual  difficulties  under  such 
conditions.  This  problem  was  solved  by  solidifying  the  soil  by 
the  injection  of  cement  grout  into  it  through  pipes  by  means  of 
compressed  air. 

A  modification  of  this  system  might  be  used  for  water-proof- 
ing leaky  concrete  shaft  or  where  difficulty  was  experienced  with 
water  in  any  type  of  shaft.  Regarding  the  question  of  waterproof- 
ing all  authorities  agree  that  it  is  possible  to  secure  a  perfectly 
water-tight  concrete  where  proper  materials,  proportions  and 
methods  of  mixing  are  employed.  The  Bureau  of  Standards  of 
the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  of  the  U.  S.  Government 
has  this  to  say  along  this  line:  "The  addition  of  the  so-called 
integral  waterproofing  compound  will  not  compensate  for  lean  mix- 
ture nor  for  poor  materials  nor  for  poor  workmanship  in  the  fabri- 
cation of  the  concrete  itself — if  the  same  care  be  taken  in  making 
the  concrete  impermeable  with  the  addition  of  waterproofing  as  is- 


256  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

ordinarily  taken  when  waterproofing  materials  are  added,  an  im- 
permeable concrete  can  be  obtained." 

Massive  roof  supports  are  more  or  less  common,  however,  the 
general  replacement  of  wooden  props  by  concrete  is  a  problem  for 
the  future.  The  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Co.  has  experimented 
with  reinforced  concrete  props,  it  is  reported  with  very  satisfactory 
results  having  established  a  factory  at  their  North  Franklin  Col- 
liery for  their  manufacture.  In  the  European  mines  a  prop  has 
been  used  made  of  a  steel  cylinder  with  flanges  on  either  end  filled 
with  reinforced  concrete  and  coated  on  the  outside  with  concrete. 
An  ingenious  method  has  been  devised  in  one  instance  to  replace 
the  ordinary  timber  sets.  This  is  simply  a  reinforced  concrete  arch 
and  used  by  the  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Coal  and  Iron  Company 
near  Shamokin,  Pa.  It  is  stated  that  these  arches  constructed 
square  in  section  18  and  24-inch  sizes,  reinforced  with  old  wire  rope, 
cost  approximately  $23.00  and  $28.00  respectively.  As  it  is  oft- 
times  necessary  that  the  full  strength  of  these  sets  be  available  at 
the  time  of  their  installation,  beams  should  be  cast  which  could  be 
handled  in  the  same  manner  as  the  ordinary  cross-bars  and  legs, 
little  difficulty  would  arise  from  any  difference  in  height  in  the 
roof  as  a  little  digging  out  at  the  bottom  would  serve  where  they 
were  too  long  and  blocking  where  they  are  too  short.  They  could 
be  cast  in  standard  lengths  of  several  different  sizes.  Reinforced 
concrete  transmission  and  trolley  poles  are  being  successfully  used 
by  a  number  of  companies. 

The  kind  of  material  will  depend  entirely  upon  the  character  of 
work  to  be  done.  Where  the  results  are  to  be  of  the  best,  the 
same  care  should  be  used  in  the  selection  and  preparation  of  the 
material  as  for  structures  in  other  lines  of  work.  The  best  grades 
of  clean  gravel  or  crushed  stone,  of  hard  durable  variety,  should 
be  used.  There  are  cases  where  other  materials  less  durable  and, 
what  we  may  term  of  second  quality,  might  be  used,  as  is  being 
done,  particularly  in  the  coke  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  where  stop- 
ping, roadway  linings  and  the  inside  structure  in  general  are  being 
constructed  with  coke  breeze  and  aggregate.  For  fine  aggregate 
clean,  sharp  sand  should  be  used.  The  question  of  proportions 
will  be  governed  by  the  class  of  work  in  hand. 

While  realizing  your  interest  in  the  economic  features  of  the 
construction  here  reviewed,  especially  as  related  to  costs,  the  author 
has  not  gone  as  fully  into  this  as  might  be,  believing  that  more 


USE  OF  CONCRETE  IN  MINE  OPERATION  257 

good  could  be  accomplished  in  calling  to  your  attention  the  wide 
range  of  uses  of  this  valuable  material.  Specific  costs  are  seldom 
satisfactory  in  covering  a  wide  territory. 

Costs  of  materials,  character  and  methods  of  handling  labor 
and  general  conditions  surrounding  the  work  all  play  an  important 
part  in  determining  the  expense.  So  that  seldom  do  we  find  two 
pieces  of  work  done  at  corresponding  cost.  As  a  general  proposi- 
tion, however,  it  might  be  said  that  concrete  will  for  most  localities 
exceed  the  first  cost  of  timber  by  a  considerable  margin,  25  to  45 
per  cent.,  according  to  one  authority.  But  its  many  superior  virtues 
far  outweigh  the  seeming  advantages  in  price  in  behalf  of  timber, 
a  fact  which  is  being  acknowledged  in  its  increasing  and  wide- 
spread US€. 


A  Defense  of  the  Flame  Safety  Mine  Lamp. 

E.   A.    HAILWOOD, 
ENGLAND. 


Prior  to  the  days  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  it  was  no  doubt  a 
natural  thing  to  fix  upon  the  naked  flame,  then  in  common  use,  as 
the  probable  cause  of  coal  mine  explosions. 

The  Davy  Lamp  was  then  invented,  and  was  thought  to  be 
a  solution  of  the  difficulties,  but  unfortunately  it  was  afterwards 
shown  that  under  certain  conditions  gas,  when  ignited  inside  the 
lamp,  could  be  blown  through  the  gauze  which  surrounded  the 
flame  and  an  explosion  created  in  the  mine. 

The  Davy  Lamp  was,  however,  remodeled,  and  the  present 
type  of  bonneted  marsaut  safety  lamp  was  evolved. 

It  is,  however,  somewhat  unfortunate  that  the  tricks  which 
could  be  played  on  the  old  Davy  Lamp  have  so  fascinated  pro- 
fessors and  many  so-called  government  experts,  that  they  have 
not  been  able  to  realize  that  the  same  tricks  cannot  be  played 
upon  the  modern  safety  lamp;  these  people  still  devote  consid- 
erable time  in  writing  about,  and  showing  experiments  on  the 
safety  lamps,  and  fail  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  their  ex- 
periments and  their  writings  really  refer  to  the  Davy  Lamp,  and 
that  they  cannot  be  performed  on  the  modern  lamp. 

The  natural  results  is  that  an  unnecessary  nervousness  is 
created  in  the  minds  of  the  miners  and  coal  operators  who  have 
not  the  time  or  means  at  their  disposal  of  learning  that  these 
tests  do  not  apply  to  the  modern  flame  lamp,  and  whilst  the  writer 
agrees  that  experiments  on  the  Davy  Lamp  are  instructive,  he 
contends  that  it  is  unfair  to  the  flame  lamp  manufacturers  that 
more  emphasis  is  not  placed  upon  the  fact  that  demonstrations 
refer  only  to  obsolete  lamps. 

One  unfortunate  result  of  these  records  of  experiments  is 
that  at  the  inquiries  following  an  explosion  in  a  mine  many  prac- 
tical men,  or  many  so-called  experts,  get  up  and  calmly  state  that 
in  their  opinion  the  explosion  was  caused  by  a  "safety  lamp." 

From  the  writer's  experience  in  connection  with  a  vast  num- 
ber of  tests  on  safety  lamps,  and  from  a  perusal  of  evidence  upon 
which  these  statements  of  experts  have  been  based,  the  writer  is 


DEFENSE  OF  FLAME  SAFETY  MINE  LAMP  259 

firmly  convinced  that  the  persons  giving  evidence  have  known 
little  or  nothing  about  the  great  margin  of  safety  possessed  by 
modern  flame  safety  lamps,  or  that  the  person  in  question  has 
been  misled  by  published  tests  on  the  old  Davy  Lamp. 

One  of  the  baneful  results  of  verdicts  based  upon  such  evi- 
dence is  that,  instead  of  pursuing  the  inquiry  further  as  should 
have  been  done,  the  actual  cause  of  the  disaster  may  have  been 
overlooked  and,  perhaps,  an  unnecessary  change  made  in  lamps, 
and  yet  the  real  means  for  creating  a  fresh  disaster  still  retained 
in  the  mine. 

Persons  who  have  witnessed  the  intense  heat  (viz.,  white  hot 
heat)  which  is  necessary  to  cause  flame  to  pass  from  the  inside 
of  a  well  constructed  bonneted  lamp  to  the  outside,  and  which 
can  only  be  attained  after  reaching  a  velocity  of  over  3,500  feet 
per  minute  of  an  explosive'  mixture  of  from  8  to  9  per  cent,  will 
realize  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  talk  of  creating  an  explosion  in  a 
mine  by  the  overheating  of  a  well  designed  lamp.  Many  an  ex- 
plosion has  been  wrongly  put  down  to  this  cause. 

The  majority  of  lamps  now  in  use'  are  fitted  with  bonnets  or 
shields,  and  the  writer  has  had  lamps  of  this  description  in  ex- 
plosive mixtures  and  the  gas  inside  the  gauze  burning  for  hours 
and  the  gauze  red  hot,  and  yet  an  outside  explosion  has  not  oc- 
curred. The  writer  submits  that  it  will  be  a  very  rare  occurrence 
to  find  in  a  mine  a  velocity  of  3,500  feet  per  minute  of  an  ex- 
plosive mixture  of  gas,  and  at  the  same  time  for  the  lamp  to  be 
placed  in  such  a  position  as  to  receive  the1  full  force  of  this  ve- 
locity, and  also  to  have  a  miner  stand  by  oblivious  of  the  remark- 
able occurrence  which  was  happening. 

Such  a  combination  of  circumstances  is  so  remote  as  to  be 
unlikely  to  happen  and  may  be  dismissed  as  out  of  the'  question. 

If  the  velocity  be  present,  but  if  the  enormous  requisite  vol- 
ume of  gas  be  absent,  there  is  no  danger.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  gas  be  present,  but  if  the  requisite  enormous  velocity  is  miss- 
ing, it  would  be  unlikely  for  an  explosion  to  happen  from  the 
lamp,  and,  again,  it  would  be  unlikely  that  a  miner  would  remain 
in  such  gas,  so  that  danger  from  "still"  gas  is  also  unlikely  to 
occur,  as  the  light  given  out  from  a  dangerous  mixture  of  gas 
burning  inside  a  safety  lamp  would  be  so  small  that  the  miner 
could  not,  under  the  circumstances,  continue  working. 

In  another  series  of  tests,  the  gas  flame  was  kept  burning 


2<5o  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINIXG  CONGRESS 

in  a  lamp  surrounded  by  an  explosive  mixture  of  gas.  At  intervals 
coal  dust  was  scattered  inside  the  lamp,  also  over  the  outside  of 
the  gauze.  The  lamp  being  constantly  shaken  about  in  the  gas, 
and  finally  coal  dust  allowed  to  remain  on  the  crown  of  the 
gauze  for  some  hours,  the  gas  flame  burned  immediately  under- 
neath the  top  of  the  gauze,  and  had  ample  opportunity  to  heat 
up  and  coke  the  coal  dust. 

The  lamp  had  a  single  gauze  only,  and  the  test  was  carried 
out  at  our  Pittsburgh  factory  with  natural  gas,  and  yet  the  flame 
did  not  communicate  with  the  surrounding  gas,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  gauze  was  often  red  hot.  If,  therefore,  single 
gauze  will  not  under  such  conditions  pass  flame,  it  is  evident  that 
double  gauzes  will  add  an  enormous  extra  amount  of  safety  to  a 
lamp. 

In  other  tests  the  writer  has  utilized  a  lamp  having  the 
glass  so  slack  that  on  shaking  the  lamp  the  glass  has  freely  rat- 
tled. The  glass  was  split  from  top  to  bottom,  and  a  crevice  cut 
right  across  the  top,  and  also  at  the  bottom,  of  the  split,  the 
crevice  being  more  than  1/32  inches  wide. 

This  lamp  was  placed  in  a  most  explosive  mixture  of  com- 
pressed gas  and  kept  there  for  over  one-half  hour  with  the  gas 
blazing  inside  the  lamp.  This  failed  to  cause  an  outside  ex- 
plosion. 

In  the  test,  the  gas  mixture  was  compressed  down  to  two- 
thirds  its  original  volume,  and  the  gas  therefore  was  in  a  most 
fierce  and  explosive  condition. 

In  other  tests,  a  ready  lit  bonneted  lamp  has  been  passed 
into  an  explosive  mixture  of  gas,  a  hole  was  pierced  in  the  top 
of  the  gauze,  quite  %-inch  diameter,  and  yet  the  flame  failed  to 
pass  through  the  hole  and  ignite  the  surrounding  gas.  No  doubt 
the  reason  for  this  being  that  the  product  of  combustion  from 
the  lamp  flame  covers  the  hole  in  the  top  of  the  gauze  with  a 
barrier  of  incombustible  gas,  through  which  the  flame  could  not 
pass  to  the  outside  gassy  atmosphere. 

To  users  of  flame  safety  lamps,  this  test  will,  no  doubt,  be 
interesting,  as  it  is  the  upper  part  of  the  gauze  which  is  subject 
to  the  most  wear  and  tear,  and  fortunately  the  test  demonstrated 
that  it  is  the  top  part  of  the  gauze  which  is  usually  protected  by 
the  barrier  of  incombustible  gas. 

The  writer  admits  that  if  the  lamp  in  question  be  allowed  to 


DEFENSE  OF  FLAME  SAFETY  MINE  LAMP  261 

be  extinguished  and  the  products  of  combustion  allowed  to  es- 
cape and  the  lamp  filled  with  an  explosive  mixture  of  gas,  and  an 
internal  friction  igniter  operated  so  as  to  cause  a  flame  to  form 
in  the  lamp  and  ignite  the  gas  inside'  the  lamp,  it  is  possible  that 
this  flame  would  pass  through  the  hole  in  the  gauze  to  the  out- 
side of  the  lamp,  but  this,  of  course,  only  refers  to  this  particular 
type  of  lamp,  and  would  not  refer  to  lamps  of  the  type  which 
must  be  completely  enclosed  when  being  relit. 

Some  authorities  have  made  much  ado  about  the  possibil- 
ities of  the  heat  from  the  flame  of  the  miner's  lamp  cracking  the 
glass.  As  regards  this  point,  it  is  only  a  question  of  a  few  dol- 
lars, as  fine,  clear  glasses  can  now  be  supplied  for  miners'  lamps 
of  such  quality  that  they  may  be  heated  up  to  about  340  degrees 
Fah.  and  sprinkled  with  water  from  a  watering  can,  and  yet  the 
glass  fails  to  crack. 

Some  people  have  been  afraid  that  a  fall  of  roof  on  a  safety 
lamp  may  cause  an  explosion  and  ignite  the  gas ;  but  in  the  tests 
so  far  carried  out  by  the  writer,  they  seemed  to  prove  that,  be- 
fore the  lamp  is  dangerously  damaged,  the  flame  of  the  lamp  is 
extinguished  by  the  "crushing  down  force." 

In  one  series  of  tests,  a  lamp  was  placed  upon  an  iron  piston, 
and  the  piston  moved  rapidly  upwards  into  a-^ylinder  containing 
gas,  so  that  the  top  of  the  gauze  came  into  violent  contact  with 
the  crown  of  the  cylinder,  and  the  gauze  was  crushed  down.  No 
outside  explosion  followed,  the  light  in  the  lamp  apparently  be- 
ing extinguished  by  the  "crushing  force"  or  by  the  concussion  of 
the  atmosphere.  Whereas,  in  the  coal  mine  it  is  very  unlikely 
that  this  condition  of  affairs  would  be  so  severe  as  it  was  in  the 
test  in  question,  as  in  the  event  of  the  gas  preceding  the  fall  of 
the  roof,  the  gas  would  most  likely  extinguish  the  lamp  flame 
before  the  crush  came  upon  the  lamp.  Whilst  if  the  stone  got 
down  ahead  of  the  gas,  and  crushed  the  lamp,  the  stone  would 
crush  out  the  light  before  the  gas  reached  it,  and  in  any  case 
there  would  have  to  be  an  immense  volume  of  gas  released  to 
reach  a  lamp  crushed  on  the  floor. 

In  another  test,  an  unbonneted  ready  lit  lamp  was  placed  in 
a  big  jet  of  explosive  gas,  and  the  gauze  smashed  by  a  violent 
blow  from  a  mallet.  This  also  failed  to  ignite  the  gas,  the  blow 
invariably  extinguishing  the  lamp  flame. 

The  writer,  therefore,  contends  that  when  using  a  well  de- 


262  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

signed  bonneted  lamp  that  fear  from  this  "cause"  may  also  be 
discounted. 

Whilst  the  writer  does  not,  for  one  moment,  advocate  the 
relaxation  of  any  possible  effort  to  insure  the  supply  t  and  issue 
to  miners  of  nothing  but  the  best  and  safest  safety  lamp,  he  is 
of  opinion  that  the  tests  referred  to  herein  show  that  the  miners' 
safety  lamp  is  capable  of  a  safety  margin  much  greater  than  is 
generally  supposed. 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  question  of  the 
detection  of  "gas,"  and  the  checking  of  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  mine. 

At  a  time  when  the  prevailing  craze  is  for  more  and  more 
complication  and  intricacy  in  all  appertaining  to  "mining,"  the 
writer  supposes  he  will  be  accused  of  sacrilege  by  calling  a  "halt" 
and  asking  for  a  hearing  in  defense  of  such  a  simple  device  for 
gas  detecting  as  the  flame  safety  lamp. 

It  is  somewhat  unfortunate  that  the  device  is  so  simple  that 
after,  say,  only  a  few  minutes  or  hours'  practice  in  a  simple  gas 
cap  observation  machine,  that  practically  any  mine  man  can  read 
the  percentage  of  inflammable  gas  in  the  atmosphere. 

It  would,  no  doubt,  appeal  more  to  the  present  "wise"  gen- 
eration if  the  lamp  could  be  fitted  with  a  series  of  levers,  switches, 
indicating  dials  and  necessitate  reference  to  elaborate  tables  of 
square  root,  cube  foot,  etc.  It  would  then,  no  doubt,  be  looked 
upon  as  a  marvelously  clever  device,  and  more  attention  would 
be  devoted  at  colleges  and  mining  schools  to  the  elaboration  of  its 
mysterious  workings. 

Now,  putting  sarcasm  on  one  side,  the  writer  submits  that 
the  Miners'  Flame  Safety  Lamp  is  the  most  simple  and  most  ac- 
curate and  most  reliable  device  which  could  possibly  be  con- 
ceived for  the  practicable  ascertainment  of  percentages  of  gas 
in  the  atmosphere  of  a  coal  mine. 

In  recent  years  great  strides  have  been  made  in  Great  Brit- 
ain in  the  organization  of  evening  mining  classes  in  all  the  coal 
mining  districts.  A  very  large  proportion  of  both  adult  and 
young  miners  have  attended  these  classes.  From  conversations 
the  writer  has  had  with  many  of  the  teachers  and  with  men  in 
the  mines  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  observation 
of  the  behavior  of  the  mining  men  who  visited  the  works  with 
which  the  writer  is  connected,  he  is  of  opinion  that  this  course  of 


DEFENSE  OF  FLAME  SAFETY  MINE  LAMP  263 

education  will  ultimately  prove  to  be  one  of  the  biggest  factors 
of  safety  introduced  in  recent  times  into  the  coal  mines. 

Up  to  a  few  years  ago  it  was  a  comparatively  rare  thing  to 
find  miners  who  kne'w  how  to  test  for  and  read  "gas  caps."  The 
consequence  was  that  men  have  often  ignorantly  continued  work- 
ing in  places  so  charged  with  gas  as  to  be  on  or  near  the  border 
line  of  explosibility ;  no  doubt  things  have  been  done  in  such  at- 
mosphere which  would  not  have  been  done  had  the  miner  known 
of  its  dangerous  state. 

It  has  now  been  established  that  a  severe  explosion  can  be 
obtained  from  quite  a  small  percentage  of  gas  if  coal  dust  be 
present.  The  present  tendency  in  coal  mining  practice  is  to  em- 
ploy vast  numbers  of  men  in  each  mine  on  each  shift,  the  num- 
ber of  deaths  from  an  explosion  is  therefore  more  appalling  (as 
witness  the  recent  explosion  in  South  Wales,  England,  where 
over  400  men  appear  to  have  been  killed).  To  employ  more 
electric  machinery,  such  as  coal  cutters,  locomotives,  motors.  To 
push  the  coal  face  forward  more'  rapidly  and  risk  falls  of  large 
quantities  of  rock  roof  with  the  possible  bringing  down  of  gas 
and  sparks  from  the  grinding  rock.  There  are  also  the  possi- 
bilities of  explosions  from  pipes,  cigarettes  and  matches,  so  that 
it  is  now  more  necessary  than  eve'r  to  place  in  the  hands  of  each 
miner  the  means  whereby  he  may  ascertain  the  state  of  the  at- 
mosphere in  which  he  is  working. 

The  best  course  to  pursue'  will,  no  doubt,  be  to  educate  the 
miners  more  and  more  into  the  best  methods  of  using  the  Flame 
Safety  Lamp,  and  also  as  to  how  best  to  test  for  gas. 

It  has  been  proposed  by  some  parties  to  place  a  flame'  safety 
lamp  at  the  entrance  to  each  working  place,  and  give  it  into  the 
charge  of  the  "gangman."  This  lamp  will,  however,  generally  be 
neglected,  and  as  the  principal  object  of  the  "gangman"  is  to  get 
as  much  coal  as  possible,  he  will,  no  doubt,  fail  to  take  a  lamp 
into  his  working  place  at  sufficiently  frequent  intervals.  Where- 
as, if  each  worker  be  provided  with  a  flame  safety  lamp,  the 
chances  of  early  detection  of  the  presence  of  gas  are  more  certain. 

Some  advocate  the  clearing  of  the  gas  out  of  the  mine  by 
increased  ventilation.  This  is  all  right  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  is  a 
•difficult  matter  to  sweep  out  each  and  every  part  of  an  extensive 
mine.  An  explosion  started  in  one  small  place  may,  by  the  aid 
of  coal  dust,  carry  through  the  mine.  From  time  to  time  we  read 


264  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

of  an  explosion  happening  in  so-called  model  mines,  where  gas 
has  either  never  been  known  or  seen,  or,  at  any  rate,  has  not 
been  observed  for  many  years.  This  emphasizes  the  need  for 
better  education  of  miners  and  the  inclusion  in  their  outfit  of 
reliable  gas  detectors. 

The  next  question  is  that  of  illumination. 

Many  writers  on  this  subject  appear  to  forget  that  the  coal 
miner  does  not  go  down  the  mine  for  the  purpose  of  reading  the 
daily  newspaper,  but  he  does  go  down  to  hew  coal  from  a  gen- 
erally well  defined  coal  face,  and  that,  with  constant  practice  he 
gets  so  that  he  could  almost  do  the  work  blindfolded.  They  also 
overlook  the  fact  that,  generally  speaking,  several  men  work  suf- 
ficiently near  each  other  at  the  face  as  to  get  a  large  general 
lighting  effect  from  the  several  lamps.  A  miner's  light  may,  on 
the  surface,  seem  to  be  a  miserable  one,  yet  in  the  darkness  of 
the  coal  mine  this  same  light  is  quite  good  and  sufficient  for  the 
work.  Certain  parties  blame  the  flame  of  the  safety  lamp  as  being 
the  cause  of  certain  diseases  of  the  eyes  of  miners,  but  it  would 
now  appear  that  there  are  miners  who  have  had  the  benefit  of 
the  increased  light  from  acetylene  lamps  and  who  now  complain 
that  this  increased  light  hurts  their  eyes.  This  would  seem  to 
raise  the  question  as  to  what  is  the  proportion  of  miners  whose 
eyes  are  naturally  weak,  and  who  would  suffer  pain  whether  the 
light  be  good  or  bad.  The  elimination  of  these  cases  will  possibly 
show  that  the  remainder  will  be  quite  satisfied  with  the  existing 
miners'  flame  lamp;  if  not,  the  illumination  of  the  flame  safety 
lamp  can  now  quite  easily  and  simply  be  increased  to  \l/2  candle 
power. 


The  Industrial  Corporation  and  Scientific  Research. 

DAVID  B.  RUSH  MORE, 
SCHENECTADY,  N.  Y. 


As  an  international  factor,  the  United  States  is  passing 
through  a  period  of  transition  from  an  agricultural  country  to 
an  industrial  one.  This  is  shown  by  the  rapid  falling  off  in  ex- 
ports of  products  of  the  soil  and  the  rapid  increase  in  the  export 
of  manufactured  goods. 

The  opening  up  of  hitherto  inaccessible  world  markets  for 
manufactured  products,  the  wonderful  increase  and  improve- 
ment in  transportation  facilities,  and  the  rise  in  the  standard  of 
living  with  consequent  increase  in  demand  for  manufactured 
products — all  of  these  give  to  industrial  conditions  an  importance 
never  hitherto  possessed. 

In  professional  life,  in  the  field  of  skilled  labor,  in  the  ac- 
tivities of  railroads  and  the  concerns  of  public  utilities,  compe- 
tition is  either  limited  by  certain  expressed  or  inexpressed  laws, 
but  in  the  industrial  world  it  exists  with  even  greater  keenness 
than  ever  before. 

The  factor  of  competition,  which  has  played  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  development  of  our  present  civilization,  seems, 
in  many  fields,  to  be  capable  of  being  superseded  by  more  intel- 
ligent methods  which  give  added  security  to  enterprises  and 
which  bring  benefit  to  all  concerned.  An  active  competitive  situ- 
ation in  industrial  life  necessarily  brings  with  it  certain  results, 
in  that  profits  on  standard  lines  of  manufacture  fall  off  rapidly, 
almost  to  the  vanishing  point.  Actual  experience  has  shown  the 
necessity  for  the  manufacturers  of  apparatus  to  assume  the  ini- 
tiative in  developing  those  activities  which  bring  about  a  de- 
mand for  their  own  apparatus. 

It  is  also  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  indi- 
viduals, which  make  up  the  present  industrial  corporations,  are 
many  of  them  actuated  by  motives  of  the  highest  order  which, 
in  their  conscientious  application  to  their  various  lines  of  work, 
bring  about  the  accomplishment  of  rapid  advances  in  the  par- 
ticular art  in  which  they  are  engaged.  There  is  a  great  and  con- 
tinual incentive  to  improve  products  and  to  lower  costs. 


266  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

An  equally  great  necessity  exists  for  development  of  new 
lines  of  apparatus  and  to  improve  the  characteristics  of  old  ones. 

When  one  sits  down  to  a  meal  one  seldom  realizes  the  work 
which  has  been  done  previously  to  placing  the  food  before  him — 
the  natives  who  have  labored  in  obscure  corners  of  the  world,  the 
men  who  have  brought  their  products  to  the  markets,  the  steam- 
ship lines  and  railroads  which  have  carried  the  goods  from  dis- 
tant lands,  the  factories  which  have  manufactured  the  raw  prod- 
ucts, "and  the  tremendous  distributing  system  which  has  been 
used  to  bring  this  to  one's  doors ;  also  the  careful  detailed  work 
necessary  in  the  household  for  the  last  stages  of  preparation. 
So  with  a  piece  of  electrical  apparatus,  the  many  acts  involved 
in  its  production  are  seldom  appreciated. 

Before  an  electrical  machine  of  a  new  type  can  be  placed  on 
the  market  there  must  usually  precede  a  long  period  of  study  and 
experiment,  and  often  many  thousands,  or  even  hundreds  of 
thousands,  of  dollars  are  spent  before  a  single  dollar  of  return 
is  possible. 

Modern  engineers  know,  where  their  predecessors  only 
thought,  but  the  definite  scientific  basis  of  present-day  activities 
is  often  obtained  at  tremendous  costs.  The  difference  between 
thinking  that  a  thing  is  probably  so,  and  definitely  knowing  and 
proving  that  it  is  or  is  not,  is  one  which  involves  a  very  great 
expense. 

The  scientific  research  on  which  modern  industrial  advance 
is  so  surely  based  is  carried  on  largely  in  three  places.  First,  the 
government  is  assuming  more  responsibility  and  is  increasing 
its  activities  in  the  field  of  scientific  exploration  in  connection 
with  those  works  of  general  interest  to  a  large  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple. This  is  illustrated  in  the  excellent  work  done  by  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  in  the  testing  of  fuels,  in  the  work  of 
the  Bureau  of  Standards,  and  not  the  least  by  the  excellent  work 
of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  and  by  many  other  activities. 

Many  colleges  and  universities,  especially  those  with  en- 
gineering and  technical  courses,  are  carrying  on  research  work 
of  importance  in  these  lines,  and  occasionally  something  of  con- 
siderable value  comes  forth  from  these  places. 

The  activities  of  the  government  and  of  the  educational  in- 
stitutions are  along  varied  lines  and  are  often  of  general  and 
fundamental  interest.  In  connection  with  this  one  cannot  speak 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  CORPORATION  267 

on  the  subject  of  scientific  research  without  joining  the  throng 
of  those  who  have  made  acknowledgments  to  that  wonderful 
group  of  scientists  at  Cambridge  University,  whose  fundamental 
work  has  made  possible  such  a  marvelous  advance  in  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  universe. 

The  satisfaction  which  comes  to  the  scientist  from  success- 
fully solving  a  difficult  problem  is  in  no  wise  lessened  by  having 
a  practical  use  made  of  his  discoveries. 

The  necessity  for  industrial  companies  for  advancing  the 
frontier  of  knowledge  concerning  their  products  all  along  the 
line  of  development  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  by  some 
of  them  of  laboratories  for  research  and  experimenting  on  which 
large  sums  of  money  are  spent,  and  in  which  the  best  of  talent 
is  engaged. 

The  conditions  of  the  electrical  industry  at  the  present  time, 
for  example,  are  such  that  the  leaders  in  its  development  must, 
to  a  large  extent,  carry  on  their  own  research  work.  The  gen- 
eral initiative  which  inspires  others  outside'  of  their  organization 
to  activities  along  these  lines  is  not  at  present  sufficient  to  keep 
pace  with  the  demand  for  advancement. 

The  facilities  for  carrying  on  this  work  and  the  provision 
for  the  expenditures  of  the  very  large  sums  of  money  necessary, 
as  well  as  the  possibilities  for  gathering  together  or  educating 
the  requisite  talent,  are  possible  only  with  the  large  organizations 
of  the  present  day. 

The  failures  and  disappointments  which  strew  the  path  of 
progress  in  experimental  work  are  never  brought  forth  to  the 
public  gaze,  and  the  courage  and  wisdom  of  those  in  responsible 
authority  who  inspire  and  direct  the  activities  necessarily  involv- 
ing such  financial  hazards,  are  exhibited  only  to  the  circle  by 
which  they  are  immediately  surrounded. 

The  great  rapidity  of  which  a  development  of  the  present 
time  is  possible  can  be  illustrated  by  no  better  example  than  that 
of  the  steam  turbine.  The  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
witnessed  the  advent  of  the  steam  engine,  and  the  end  of  the 
century  sees  it  being  supplanted  by  a  piece  of  machinery  which 
has  reached  its  present  development  in  an  almost  incredibly 
short  space  of  time. 

Almost  the  first  commercial  steam  turbine  turned  out  in  this 
country,  and  the  largest  at  the  time,  was  the  5,000  K.  W.  unit 


268  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

built  for  the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company  in  Chicago  in  1903. 
This  had  a  speed  of  500  R.  P.  M.,  an  over-all  efficiency  of  55  per 
cent,  and  weight  per  K.  W.  of  80  pounds.  Ten  years  later,  in 
1913,  there  is  being  built  for  the  same  company,  a  30,000  K.  W. 
unit  running  at  three  times  the  speed  of  the  first  unit  or  1,500 
R.  P.  M.,  and  with  an  over-all  efficiency  of  75  per  cent,  and  a 
weight  per  K.  W.  of  approximately  30  pounds,  or  nearly  one-third 
of  the  5,000  K.  W.  unit. 

In  this  connection  it  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  will  soon  be  possessed  of  the  largest  turbine  unit 
in  the  world,  approximating  50,000  H.  P.  capacity. 

Such  a  rapid  development  as  has  taken  place  with  the  steam 
turbine  has  been  only  possible  when  accompanied  with  an  enorm- 
ous amount  of  experimental  and  -development  work,  as  well  as  by 
great  improvements  in  both  materials  and  processes  of  manu- 
facture. When  the  period  of  construction  is  so  long,  in  many 
cases  running  from  nine  months  to  a  year  for  each  machine,  it  is 
readily  seen  that  the  rapidity  of  improvement  must  over-run  the 
art  and  that  at  the  time  that  any  machine  is  put  in  operation  it 
has  already  been  overtaken  by  improvements  in  the  art. 

Another  line  of  intense  activity  in  the  electrical  industry 
during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  has  been  that  in  connection 
with  long  distance  transmission  of  hydro-electric  power.  The 
results  have  been  most  gratifying  in  that  it  is  now  possible  to 
transmit  power  electrically  for  hundreds  of  miles  to  places  where 
profitable  markets  can  be  found. 

Such  transmissions  have  only  been  made  economically  possi- 
ble by  the  use  of  very  high  pressures,  150,000  volts  now  being  in 
use,  while  even  higher  are  being  contemplated.  The  limit  to 
these  high  pressures  was  formerly  the  insulation,  but  scientific 
investigations  developed  an  entirely  new  form  of  line  insulation 
and  practically  removed  that  as  the  limiting  feature  in  power 
transmission  work. 

It  then  fell  to  the  size  of  the  cable  and  the  loss  of  electricity 
in  air  to  limit  the  electrical  pressures  which  could  be  used.  And 
again  another  elaborate  scientific  investigation  discovered  the 
natural  laws  surrounding  this  phenomenon,  and  by  means  of  ex- 
act mathematical  expressions  and  figures  placed  the  subject  defi- 
nitely in  the  hands  of  the  engineer. 

The  furnishing  of  reliable  service  in  the  supply  of  electric 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  CORPORATION  269 

light  and  power  has  in  many  places  been  subject  to  disturbances 
of  atmospheric  lightning.  During  the  last  ten  years  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in  purely  scientific  research 
work  on  this  subject  alone  by  one  manufacturing  company,  and 
a  large  force  of  men  is  continually  engaged  in  a  special  labora- 
tory devoted  to  this  work,  in  an  effort  to  determine  the  exact 
nature  of  the  phenomenon  and  to  develop  apparatus  to  protect 
the  circuits  from  its  destructive  action.  That  such  effort  has 
in  a  large  measure  been  successful  is  due  to  the  fact  that  almost 
unlimited  facilities  have  been  available  in  the  way  of  laboratories, 
apparatus  and  funds,  as  well  as  the  good  fortune  of  having  en- 
gaged upon  it  research  engineers  of  the  highest  quality. 

In  high  tension  transmission  work  a  great  many  unknown 
phenomena  have  to  be  determined  by  actual  experience,  and  this 
means  that  apparatus  must  be  placed  out  on  operating  systems 
before  they  have  reached  a  stage  of  final  development,  and  thus 
a  great  deal  of  the  advance  which  has  been  made  in  the  art  has 
been  due  to  the  hearty  co-operation  between  the  operators  and 
manufacturers,  without  which  such  rapid  improvements  would 
have  been  impossible. 

It  thus  results  that  the  constant  need  for  improvement  is  be- 
ing met  by  a  rapid  development  of  nearly  all  the  different  lines 
of  manufacture  in  which  some  experimental  features  must,  of 
necessity,  be  frequently  embodied. 

Electric  energy  is  largely  used  for  three  purposes — lighting, 
power  applications  to  railroad  work  and  power  applications  to 
general  industrial  work. 

Possibly  in  no  other  field  of  electric  activities  has  so  much 
time  and  money  been  expended  with  such  successful  results  as 
in  that  of  electric  lighting,  and  especially  in  connection  with  in- 
candescent lamps. 

During  the  past  six  years  over  $500,000  has  been  spent  by 
one  electrical  manufacturing  company  in  research  work  on  this 
subject,  resulting  in  the  development  of  the  drawn-filament  tung- 
sten lamp,  with  a  power  consumption  of  only  one  watt  per  candle- 
power  as  compared  to  over  three  watts  for  the  old  carbon  lamp. 

With  a  retail  price  of  power  of  10  cents  per  kilowatt  hour, 
the  annual  saving  to  the  public  amounts  to  approximately 
$300,000,000 — a  very  satisfactory  return  on  the  investment,  but 
practically  all  of  which,  however,  goes  to  the  consumer,  the  manu- 


270  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

facturer  being  benefited  only  in  part,  while  the  operating  com- 
pany may,  for  the  time  being,  be  adversely  affected. 

The  latest  development  of  the  research  laboratory  is  the  ni- 
trogen filled  lamp  with  approximately  twice  the  efficiency  of  the 
tungsten  lamp.  This  is  not  yet  on  the  market  in  this  country, 
and  will  only  be  used  in  large  units,  at  least,  to  begin  with. 

The  invention  of  ductile  tungsten  for  the  incandescent  lamp 
has  also  benefited  other  apparatus  to  a  very  great  extent.  This 
material  is  now  widely  used  for  a  number  of  other  purposes,  such 
as  relay  contacts,  X-Ray  targets,  etc. 

The  invention  of  the  magnetite  arc  lamp  has  also  been  of  a 
great  commercial  value,  and  the  annual  saving  in  power  which 
has  been  brought  about  by  superseding  the  enclosed  carbon  arc 
lamps  amounts  to  $3,000,000,  with  the  cost  of  power  at  two  cents 
per  K.  W.  hour. 

The  electric  motor  applications  to  our  street  railway  systems 
need  no  comment,  but  its  general  application  to  our  trunk  rail- 
way service  awaits  not  only  the  final  engineering  development, 
but  more  especially  the  possible  expenditures  of  the  large  sums 
necessary  for  this  change. 

The  enormous  growth  of  the  manufacturing  industry  in  this 
country  during  a  period  of  ten  years  is  best  illustrated  by  the 
following  census  report: 

Value  of  Products  in  Dollars. 
1899  1909 

All  Industries $11,406,927,000    $20,672,052,000 

Automobiles 4,748,000  249,202,000 

Chemicals 62,637,000  117,689,000 

Electrical  Machinery 92,434,000  221,309,000 

Fertilizers 44,657,000  103,960,000 

Iron  and  Steel  (Blast  Furnace)  . .        206,757,000  391,429,000 

Iron  and  Steel  (Mills) 597,212,000  985,723,000 

Paper  and  Wood  Pulp •      127,326,000  267,657,000 

Copper  Smelting  and  Refining. . .        165,132,000  378,806,000 

Zinc  Smelting  and  Refining 18,188,000  34,206,000 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  value  of  the  total  products  nearly 
doubled  in  this  period.  That  the  electric  motor  application  was, 
to  a  great  deal,  responsible  for  this  increase  is  clearly  borne  out 
by  the  fact  that  while  in  1899  the  motor  applications  amounted 
to  492,936  horsepower,  in  1909  this  had  increased  to  4,817,140 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  CORPORATION  271 

horsepower,  or  nearly  ten  times.  This  application  of  the  electric 
motor  for  driving  industrial  machinery  was  at  first  thought  to  be 
of  value  only  in  the  saving  of  power  through  the  elimination  of 
the  losses  due  to  friction  in  line  shaftings  or  other  forms  of  me- 
chanical transmission.  A  still  higher  economy  has,  however,  been 
found  to  be  in  its  other  numerous  advantages,  resulting  in  a  very 
large  increase  in  the  output  of  production. 

The  wonderful  variety  of  electric  motors,  when  the  possible 
variations  in  capacities,  speeds,  voltages,  frequencies,  phases,  op- 
erating characteristics,  etc.,  are  considered,  makes  it  impossible 
for  the  layman  to  apply  these'  without  the  assistance  of  the  skilled 
electrical  engineer,  in  order  to  obtain  satisfactory  results  from 
their  service.  The  problem  involved  in  the  application  of  such 
machinery  to  the  great  variety  of  industries  has  been  accompanied 
by  a  careful  study  into  the  numerous  factors  involved  in  such 
applications,  and  only  by  such  careful  study,  and  often  by  passing 
through  a  considerable  period  of  experimenting,  has  much  of  the 
satisfactory  development  been  obtained. 

The  development  of  control  for  electric  motors  has  been  one 
of  the  great  factors  in  their  successful  application,  and  the  auto- 
matic, fool-proof  devices  of  the  present  day  make  them  safe  even 
with  a  class  of  labor  which  would  otherwise  be  out  of  consid- 
eration. 

The  peculiar  requirements  of  different  fields  of  application, 
such,  for  example,  as  steel  mills  and  mining  work,  have  brought 
about  the  development  of  special  classes  of  electrical  machinery 
for  these  purposes,  and  we  thus  find  a  special  development  of  a 
line  of  steel  mill  motors,  and  also  an  entirely  distinct  and  separate 
line  of  motors  for  mining  service. 

It  may  also  be  interesting  to  note  that  in  one  class  of  motors 
over  five  thousand  different  varieties  are  now  listed  by  one  of  the 
large  manufacturers. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  growth  of  our  public  utilities,  who 
?  tpply  power  to  a  large  part  of  the  electrical  apparatus  in  this 
country,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  the  marvelous  growth  of 
the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company  in  Chicago.  While  in  1903 
its  generating  capacity  was  only  a  few  thousand  horsepower,  it 
now  exceeds  the  one-quarter  million  mark. 

The  extent  with  which  the  research  and  scientific  experi- 
mental work  is  carried  out  by  one  large  electrical  manufacturing 


272  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

company  is  best  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  now  eight  different 
laboratories  are  devoted  to  this  purpose.  The  yearly  expenses  of 
only  one  of  them  amounting  to  over  $200,000.  In  addition,  a  large 
amount  of  experimental  work  is,  of  course,  carried  on  by  the  other 
engineering  departments. 

The  few  brief  examples  given  in  the  following  are  merely 
illustrative  of  the  different  fields  of  activity  in  which  research 
work  is  being  carried  on  by  electrical  manufacturing  companies, 

Scientific  Research  Work 

Incandescent  Lamps. 

Arc  Lamps. 

Quartz  Tube  Lamps. 

Mercury  Arc  Rectifiers. 

Vacuum  Tubes. 

Electrodes. 

Tungsten  Contacts. 

X-Ray  Targets  and  Tubes. 

Carbon  and  Metite  Brushes. 

Insulations. 

Fuses. 

Alloys. 

Transformer  Iron. 

Tool  Steel. 

Electric  Furnace  Products. 

Calorizing. 

Radio-Telegraphy  (High  Frequency  Generators). 

Problem  of  Illumination,  Etc.,  Etc., 

In  general,  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  improvements 
which  result  from  this  work  go  directly  to  the  public,  and  but  a 
small  percentage  to  the  manufacturing  and  operating  companies. 
Power  being  sold  largely  on  a  kilowatt  hour  basis,  the  improve- 
ments in  lamps  have  been  almost  all  in  favor  of  the  consumer, 
who  now  gets  more  than  three  times  the  light  for  the  same 
amount  of  energy ;  and  so  it  is  in  other  fields. 

The  number  of  problems  in  the  electrical  art  awaiting  solu- 
tion is  rapidly  increasing,  and  at  present  the  number  of  men  en- 
gaged in  research  and  development  work  is  rapidly  increasing 
also,  and  very  large  sums  are,  as  previously  mentioned,  being 
annually  expended  for  this  purpose. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  CORPORATION  273 

An  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  users  of  electrical  appa- 
ratus of  the  problems  and  difficulties  of  the  manufacturer  has  in 
the  past  led  to  a  most  unusual  spirit  of  co-operation,  and  this  has 
been  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  the  rapid  advance  of  the  art. 

The  electrical  manufacturer  looks  forward  to  the  continued 
co-operation  of  the  user  of  his  apparatus  and,  if  possible,  to  a 
closer  personal  relation  with  an  effort  to  solve  those  problems 
with  which  the  rapid  and  continuous  advance  of  the  art  is  neces- 
sarily accompanied. 


Arbitration  as  a  Factor  in  the  Mining  Industry. 

WILLIAM  B.  WILSON, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  The  question  of  arbitration  in 
any  industry  presupposes  collective  bargaining.  I  think  it  will  be 
readily  understood  that  arbitration  with  individual  employees  in 
large  industries  would  be  a  practical  impossibility,  so  that  before 
you  can  enter  into  the  arbitration  of  the  questions  in  the  mining 
industry,  it  must  be  entered  into  as  a  result  of  collective  negotiations 
between  the  employers  and  the  employees.  Collective  bargaining 
is  the  basis. 

Arbitration  can  only  obtain  where  there  has  been  a  failure  of 
previous  negotiations.  That  those  negotiations  entered  into  col- 
lectively are  beneficial  to  the  mining  industry  I  am  thoroughly  con- 
vinced. My  judgment  in  that  respect  is  arrived  at  from  three 
phases  of  the  situation.  First,  from  the  moral  standpoint;  second, 
from  the  business  standpoint,  and  third,  from  the  political  or  legal 
standpoint. 

My  conception  of  industry,  particularly  in  its  modern  develop- 
ment is  that  capital  and  labor  are  partners  in  production.  Each 
performs  a  particular  function  in  the  production.  Capital  furnishes 
the  machinery  by  which  labor  is  made  more  productive.  It  fur- 
nishes in  the  form  of  a  wage  the  means  by  which  the  workman  can 
live  until  that  which  he  is  working  upon  has  been  completed  and 
marketed.  Those  are  the  two  important  functions  of  capital.  In 
other  words,  capital  is  the  unconsumed  product  of  previous  labor, 
and  as  the  unconsumed  product  of  previous  labor,  it  is  in  a  posi- 
tion to  materially  assist  in  increasing  the  productivity  of  labor,  but 
labor  itself  is  the  vitalizing  force;  it  is  the  force  that  gives  actual 
reproduction.  Take  your  capital,  an  inanimate  thing,  and  place  it 
anywhere  and  it  will  remain  there  until  time  has  turned  it  into  dust 
before  a  solitary  act  would  be  performed  by  it,  before  anything 
would  be  produced  by  it;  but  by  performing  the  functions  I  have 
stated,  it  gives  additional  energy,  additional  force  and  effectiveness 
to  labor,  and  labor,  as  I  have  said,  being  the  vitalizing  force,  then 


ARBITRATION  IN  THE  MINING  INDUSTRY  275 

the  two  are  partners  in  production.  Being  partners  in  production, 
looked  at  purely  from  the  moral  standpoint  and  not  from  the  legal 
standpoint,  each  is  entitled  to  a  voice  in  determining  what  the  terms 
of  the  partnership  will  be.  Being  each  entitled  to  a  voice  in  deter- 
mining what  the  terms  of  the  contract  will  be,  the  question  naturally 
arises,  how  are  you  going  to  arrive  at  that  determination  and  arrive 
at  it  upon  an  equitable  basis?  You  can  only  do  so  by  collective 
bargaining,  and  that  is  made  clear  and  apparent  to  all  of  you 
gentlemen  who  are  engaged  in  large  enterprises. 

When  you  stop  to  realize  that  the  employee  is  but  a  very  small 
unit  in  the  operation,  if  you  undertake  to  deal  with  the  individual 
as  such,  and  not  with  the  collective  employees,  the  employer  has  an 
immense  advantage  over  him  in  making  a  contract.  There  is  a  rule 
in  equity  that  both  parties  to  a  contract  must  be  of  equal  power,  else 
the  stronger  party  will  take  advantage  of  the  weaker  party  every 
time.  The  only  exception  to  that  is  where  the  generosity  of  the 
stronger  party  intercedes  and  causes  him  to  yield  that  which  he 
would  not  otherwise  yield. 

Men  do  not  engage  in  business  through  a  spirit  of  philanthropy  ; 
men  engage  in  business  for  the  dollars  and  cents  they  are  able  to 
make  out  of  that  business,  and  even  if  they  are  of  generous  impulse, 
willing  to  treat  with  the  individual  employee  as  generously  as  they 
can,  there  is  a  point  beyond  which  the  generously  inclined  cannot 
go,  unless  those  who  are  less  generously  inclined  come  forward  also, 
so  that  from  that  standpoint  as  well,  collective  bargaining  is  a 
necessity  in  all  large  industries,  including  the  mining  industry. 

The  only  way  in  which  the  employee  can  be  nearly  equal  to 
the  employer  in  power  in  negotiating  the  wage  contract  or  condition 
of  employment,  is  where  the  employee  acts  collectively  with  his 
employer,  then  they  are  nearly  equal  in  power  in  negotiating  the 
contract.  Consequently,  the  contract  itself  is  likely  to  be  more 
equitable. 

In  the  long  experience  which  it  has  been  my  opportunity  to 
have  in  negotiating  the  wage  contracts  in  the  coal  mining  industry, 
I  think  that  it  was  clearly  demonstrated  that  it  was  not  only  bene- 
ficial to  the  employee,  but  beneficial  to  the  employer  as  well  to 
engage  in  collective  bargaining,  and  that  brings  me  to  the  second 
phase  of  the  problem  which  I  want  to  deal  with,  and  deal  with 
briefly  as  I  have  the  other ;  that  is  the  business  advantage  that  comes 
from  collective  bargaining. 


276  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Speaking  of  the  experience  in  the  coal  mining  industry  I  recall 
the  time  throughout  the  entire  country,  and  it  is  not  so  very  long 
ago,  when  there  was  no  collective  bargaining  in  the  coal  mining 
industry.  Every  employer  and  every  employee  was  running  upon 
his  own  hook,  so  to  speak.  The  result  was  demoralization  in  the 
coal  mining  trade.  Operators  were  running  on  the  lowest  possible 
margin.  They  were  seeking  to  compete  for  business — they  are  yet. 

They  were  running  on  narrow  margins  and  uncertain  margins. 
They  were  cutting  down  the  wages  of  their  workmen  in  the  hope 
of  being  able  to  compete  with  some  other  man  in  the  trade — the 
other  man  in  the  trade  cutting  down  the  wages  of  his  workmen  in 
order  to  compete  with  the  first,  until  a  situation  had  arisen  where 
there  was  neither  wages  for  the  employees  nor  profits  for  the 
employer. 

The  business  advantage  that  grew  out  of  collective  bargaining 
in  the  coal — bituminous  coal  trade,  was  the  stability  that  it  gave 
even  to  those  narrow  margins.  Under  the  old  method  there  was 
no  knowledge  of  trade  disturbances  taking  place.  It  is  true  that 
even  in  collective  bargaining  trade  disputes  arise,  but  not  to  the 
extent  of  the  old  methods  of  bargaining.  They  never  knew  when 
trade  disputes  would  arise.  They  entered  into  contracts  for  specific 
lengths  of  time,  and  as  an  outgrowth  of  that  position  you  will  find 
in  nearly  all  the  contracts  made  to-day  a  clause  inserted,  having  a 
strike  provision  in  it  that  grew  out  of  the  turmoil  of  that  period. 

By  entering  into  specific  time  contracts  with  their  employees, 
entering  into  them  collectively,  the  result  has  been  that  those  engaged 
in  the  coal  trade  have  been  in  a  position  to  compute,  within  a  fraction 
of  a  cent,  what  their  costs  are  in  production,  and  to  know  that 
those  costs  are  continued  at  approximately  that  figure  during  the 
period  of  the  time  of  the  contract.  They  have  thus  been  able  to  go 
into  the  market,  knowing  what  the  costs  were  going  to  be  for  a 
good  length  of  time,  and  make  their  bids  accordingly,  so  that  from 
the  standpoint  of  a  business  proposition,  the  stability  that  it  has 
given  to  the  trade,  the  stability  that  it  gives  in  every  line  of  industry 
is  of  benefit  not  only  to  the  employee,  but  a  benefit  to  the  employer 
as  well. 

Now,  I  come  to  the  third  phase,  which  I  also  want  to  deal  with 
briefly,  and  that  is  the  legal  or  political  phase.  It  is  a  very  common 
thing  for  employers  to  say,  in  every  line  of  industry — the  mining 
industry  is  no  exception  to  the  rule — "That  this  is  my  business,  and 


ARBITRATION  IN  THE  MINING  INDUSTRY  277 

I  propose  to  run  this  business  without  interference  from  any  one." 
That  statement  is  based  upon  a  narrow  conception  of  our  political 
institutions  and  the  law  of  property.  Originally,  in  the  good  old 
times,  the  man  who  had  the  physical  power  would  take  control  of 
land,  take  control  of  property,  and  while  he  would  retain  that 
power,  keep  the  property.  In  the  good  old  times  he  would  take 
who  had  the  power,  and  let  him  keep  who  can. 

Our  more  modern  conceptions  of  government,  however,  and 
the  relation  of  government  to  property,  is  that  titles  to  property 
are  conveyed  and  maintained  and  protected  because  society  believes 
that  that  is  the  best  method  of  serving  the  welfare  of  society.  It 
conveys  a  title  and  protects  a  title  for  all  classes  of  property. 
There  is  not  a  piece  of  property  in  existence  in  the  United  States 
whose  title  is  not  a  law-created  and  law-protected  one.  Society, 
having  perfected  that  title  for  its  own  welfare,  may  at  any  time 
modify  or  change  that  title  whenever  in  the  judgment  of  society 
it  is  for  the  welfare  of  society  to  do  so,  and  where  you  proceed 
along  the  lines  that  the  property  is  yours  to  do  with  as  you  please 
without  interference  by  any  one,  and  without  recognizing  the  part- 
nership of  those  who  are  engaged  with  you  in  production,  then  you 
are  arousing  and  stirring  up  that  sentiment  which  will  ultimately 
lead  to  a  change  in  our  political  affairs,  a  change  in  our  theories  of 
government,  a  change  in  the  principles  upon  which  titles  of  property 
rest.  And  so,  from  a  legal  and  political  standpoint,  it  is  wise  that 
we  should  proceed  along  the  lines  of  recognizing  that  the  employee 
is  a  partner  in  the  production.  (Applause.) 

I  do  not  know  of  any  way  that  I  can  better  illustrate  my  idea 
of  partnership  than  by  citing  an  instance  that  occurred  under  my 
own  personal  observation  a  number  of  years  ago.  I  have  used  it 
a  number  of  times,  but  in  my  judgment  it  clearly  illustrates  the 
partnership. 

We  had  been  going  on  for  about  thirty  years,  dealing  collect- 
ively with  our  employers  (I  was  then  a  coal  miner).  We  had  an 
opportunity  of  meeting  the  manager  of  the  company  and  presenting 
to  him  any  grievances  we  had,  and  discussing  them  with  him  and 
then  presenting  them  to  him  in  writing,  and  he  would  give  a  reply 
in  writing,  and  through  that  process  we  arrived  at  a  mutual  agree- 
ment. A  change  in  the  management  took  place,  the  new  manager 
had  different  ideas  about  handling  property.  They  went  to  him 
with  a  grievance  relative  to  dockage,  discussed  it  with  him  orally, 


278  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

as  we  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  before,  and  presented  our  griev- 
ance in  writing,  and  within  a  few  days  we  received  a  reply,  and  the 
reply  was  couched  in  terms  something  like  this : 

"This  company  has  sent  me  here  to  run  these  mines,  and  I 
propose  to  run  them  without  interference  from  any  man  or  any  set 
of  men." 

The  committee  received  the  communication  and  went  before 
the  balance  of  the  workmen  in  their  open  union,  and  they  discussed 
it,  and  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  manager  was  thor- 
oughly within  his  rights,  that  the  state  had  conveyed  a  title  to  this 
property  to  the  company  and  that  it  had  a  right  to  run  that  property 
in  any  manner  it  saw  fit  within  the  limits  of  the  law,  and  having 
that  right,  it  also  had  the  right  to  delegate  that  power  to  any 
manager  that  it  saw  fit.  And  so  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  manager  was  entirely  within  his  rights  in  the  proposition,  and 
they  sent  the  committee  back  to  state  so  to  the  manager.  The 
committee  went  back  and  they  stated  to  him  their  position,  and,  in 
addition,  added  that  so  far  as  they  were  concerned  they  would  not 
interfere  with  him  in  the  operation  of  the  mine,  and  for  nine  months 
after  that  time  they  did  not  interfere  with  him  in  the  operation  of 
the  mine.  Not  a  pound  of  coal  was  produced.  At  the  end  of  the 
nine  months  he  sent  for  the  committee  and  the  committee  waited 
upon  him  to  find  out  what  his  wishes  were,  and  he  said  he  wanted 
his  mines  in  operation.  They  said  to  him :  "Very  well,  put  them  in 
operation."  He  said,  "I  need  miners  to  mine  this  coal."  They  said : 
"Very  well,  get  the  miners."  He  said:  "I  cannot  get  men  as  long 
as  these  miners  continue  their  attitude."  The  committeemen  said: 
"Do  you  want  us  to  be  partners  with  you  in  the  mining  of  this 
coal?"  He  said:  "If  you  want  to  put  it  that  way— yes."  "Then," 
said  the  committee,  "if  we  are  to  be  partners  with  you  in  the 
operation  of  these  mines  we  insist  upon  having  a  voice  in  deter- 
mining the  terms  of  the  partnership."  The  partnership  was  recog- 
nized and  there  has  been  peace  there  ever  since. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  as  a  means  of  giving  stability  to  the  business, 
as  a  moral  right  that,  the  workmen  and  the  employers  have  a  voice 
in  the  partnership,  and  as  a  political  advantage,  in  my  judgment, 
collective  bargaining  is  the  proper  course.  But  it  frequently  occurs 
in  collective  bargaining  that  those  who  are  immediately  interested 
are  unable  to  work  out  the  problem,  because  that  interest  diverges 
at  a  certain  point.  Employers  and  employees  have  a  mutual  interest, 
not  an  identical  interest.  Mark  the  distinction.  Employers  and 


ARBITRATION  IN  THE  MINING  INDUSTRY  279 

employees  have  a  mutual  interest  in  securing  the  largest  possible 
production,  with  a  given  amount  of  labor.  That  is  true  because 
then  there  is  a  larger  amount  to  be  divided  in  the  partnership,  there 
is  a  larger  amount  ready  for  distribution  between  those  who  are 
partners.  So  they  have  a  mutual  interest  in  securing  the  largest 
possible  production  with  a  given  amount  of  labor.  The  interest 
only  diverges  when  it  comes  to  a  division  of  that  which  has  been 
jointly  produced.  When  that  point  has  been  reached  it  seems  to 
me  the  proper  course  to  pursue  is  to  sit  down  around  the  council 
table  and  work  the  problem  out,  but  because  of  the  divergence  of 
interest  it  will  sometimes  occur  that  the  two  parties  are  unable 
to  come  together,  and  it  is  not  until  that  stage  of  the  situation  that 
arbitration  comes  into  it.  Then  arbitration  may  properly  come  in — 
not  compulsory  arbitration,  because  compulsory  arbitration  means 
the  opening  up  of  the  entire  subject  matters.  It  means  conditions 
that  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  may  lead  to 
conditions  that  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  human  rights.  Com- 
pulsory arbitration,  if  it  means  anything,  means  that  the  employer 
may  be  compelled  to  operate  upon  an  award  made  by  the  Board 
of  Arbitration  that  would  lead  to  a  loss  and  ultimately  the  wiping 
out  of  its  entire  capital,  or  it  may,  on  the  other  hand,  lead  to  an 
employee  being  compelled  to  work  under  conditions  that  are  onerous 
to  him,  that  would  be  a  species  of  slavery.  Compulsory  arbitration, 
in  addition  to  that,  opening  up  the  entire  field  for  consideration, 
creates  a  natural  condition  that  is  unfair  to  the  employee,  because 
in  dealing  with  the  problems  before  the  Board  of  Arbitration  when 
the  whole  subject  matter  is  thrown  open,  the  employer  is  protected 
by  a  clear,  clean-cut  dividing  line  between  profit  and  loss,  which 
can  be  shown  by  his  records.  He  is  protected  in  presenting  his  case 
before  the  Board  of  Arbitration  by  that  clean-cut  dividing  line,  but 
the  employee  has  no  such  clean-cut  dividing  line.  The  standard  of 
living  is  flexible.  It  may  be  raised  or  lowered  and  the  workman 
still  live,  so  the  workman  has  no  dividing  line  to  protect  him,  and 
the  only  arbitration  that  can  be  fair  and  just  to  all  parties  con- 
cerned is  where  both  parties  agree  to  abide  by  the  result,  a  voluntary 
arbitration,  where  the  basis  has  been  laid  down  in  advance. 

When  the  negotiations  under  collective  bargaining  have  failed, 
where  the  two  parties  at  interest  have  been  unable  to  get  together, 
then  they  can  properly  submit  the  questions  to  a  board  of  arbitra- 
tion, and  by  that  process  leaving  them  to  a  disinterested  third 
party  the  questions  in  dispute  may  be  adjusted. 


280  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  first  method  is  where  the  problem  has  been  jointly  worked 
out,  where  they  have  mutually  agreed  upon  the  terms  of  employ- 
ment, there  is  a  better  co-operation,  which  is  of  very  great  value  in 
maintaining  the  efficiency  of  any  plant,  much  better  with  the  spirit 
of  co-operation  that  remains  when  the  subject  matter  has  been 
referred  to  a  third  party,  and  that  third  party  has  made  an  award. 
It  almost  invariably  follows  that  the  one  side  or  the  other  is  dis- 
satisfied with  the  award  that  has  been  made  in  arbitration,  so  there 
is  a  spirit  of  unrest  to  some  extent,  following  the  submission  of  a 
cause  to  arbitration.  The  better  method  is  to  handle  it  jointly, 
work  it  out  jointly  if  you  possibly  can,  but  failing  in  that,  submit 
the  problems  in  issue  to  a  board  of  arbitration.  In  my  judgment 
it  increases  the  efficiency,  it  establishes  stability  that  is  an  advantage 
to  any  industry  that  engages  in  that  method  of  handling  its  trade 
disputes.  I  thank  you.  (Applause.) 


Mine  Rescue  and  First  Aid  Operations. 
j.  w.  PAUL. 

PITTSBURGH,   PA. 


In  the  conduct  of  mining  operations  conditions  frequently 
arise  which  call  for  prompt  and  efficient  action  in  the  rescue  of 
victims  of  an  accident,  the  giving  of  first-aid  treatment  to  the  in- 
jured, and  in  the  recovery  of  mine  workings  which  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  fire  or  explosion. 

Within  recent  years,  in  this  country,  the  minds  of  trained 
and  untrained  men  have  been  directed  to  the  national  slogan  of 
"Safety  First."  Let  this  not  be  a  spasmodic  occurrence  in  our 
civic  and  economic  history,  but  one  to  be  cherished  and  perpetuated 
for  the  upbuilding  of  society  and  advancement  of  efficiency  and 
economy  and  the  conservation  of  life  and  health  among  the  many 
who  contribute  to  the  greatness  of  our  nation's  wealth  and  strength. 

Religious  and  fraternal  organizations  have  furnished  spiritual 
and  temporal  relief  to  those  who  in  conscientious  faith  have  availed 
themselves  of  their  many  blessings.  The  moral  and  humanitarian 
aspects  of  man's  relations  to  his  fellow  man  have  received  considera- 
tion through  civic,  accident  and  sick  organizations  and  compensa- 
tion laws  and  disability  benefits. 

The  greatest  economy  and  the  highest  efficiency  in  hazardous 
occupations  are  governed  by  the  spirit  of  co-operation  existing  be- 
tween the  employer  and  employee  in  the  matter  of  the  care  exer- 
cised for  the  health,  safety  and  prolongation  of  the  life  of  the  em- 
ployee. 

We  are  confronted  with  a  condition,  not  a  theory,  which  is 
rapidly  becoming  international,  and  that  is,  the  hazard  surrounding 
certain  classes  of  occupation  must  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  or  the 
dependent  industry  will  suffer  through  lack  of  sufficient  men  to 
perform  the  necessary  labor.  This  thought  brings  before  you  the 
consideration  of  the  subject  matter  of  this  paper. 

The  organization  of  rescue  and  first-aid  crews  at  mines  and 
keeping  the  crews  in  practice  so  as  to  meet  any  ordinary  emergency 
has  a  far-reaching  influence  in  that  the  employees  become  imbued 
with  a  spirit  of  contentment  that  means  are  provided  for  their 


282  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

safety  and  relief  in  the  event  of  accident  or  disaster ;  the  discipline 
instilled  in  the  training  of  crews  in  rescue  and  first-aid  is  beneficial 
in  the  daily  operation  of  the  mine,  the  employees  given  such  training 
often  developing  into  very  useful  foremen,  since  the  training  when 
given  properly  gives  the  young  man  confidence  in  his  ability  to  com- 
mand men,  which  ability  counts  for  much  in  the  economic  operation 
of  any  mining  property.  The  history  of  those  mines  at  which  reg- 
ular and  systematic  training  has  been  given  reveals  some  wholesome 
and  interesting  results  which  are  well  worthy  of  consideration  by 
those  who  have  not  as  yet  become  aroused  to  the  benefits  to  be 
gained  by  such  systematic  training. 

In  some  mining  centers  the  prompt  rendering  of  first-aid  has 
resulted  in  reducing  the  time  of  disability  of  persons  injured  and  in- 
creased the  average  efficiency  of  the  employee  in  the  amount  of  work 
performed. 

At  mines  in  which  disasters  have  occurred  and  where  trained 
rescuers  have  been  immediately  available,  lives  have  been  saved  that 
otherwise  would  have  been  lost.  The  breathing  apparatus  in  the 
hands  of  trained  men  has  on  a  number  of  occasions  within  the  past 
four  years  been  responsible  for  the  saving  of  lives  which  could  not 
have  been  saved  by  the  ordinary  method  followed  in  the  past  by  re- 
establishing the  ventilation  within  mines. 

Incidents  might  be  cited  where  lives  would  have  been  seriously 
jeopardized  if  the  ventilating  current  had  been  restored  to  its  normal 
course  prior  to  the  exploration  of  the  mine  by  men  wearing  breath- 
ing apparatus.  The  author  has  in  mind  several  mines  from  which 
live  men  were  rescued  by  reason  of  not  restoring  the  ventilation  in 
the  part  of  the  mine  in  which  they  had  remained  following  an  ex- 
plosion or  mine  fire  and  in  which  the  breathing  apparatus  was  the 
important  factor  in  their  rescue. 

The  work  of  mine  rescue  and  first-aid  are  so  closely  associated 
that  it  is  difficult  to  discuss  either  without  in  some  manner  referring 
to  the  other.  However,  we  may  have  first-aid  teams  where  there 
are  no  teams  trained  in  mine  rescue,  but  where  there  are  trained 
rescue  teams  there  should  always  be  first-aid. 

RESCUE  OPERATIONS. 

Rescue  operations  should  be  conducted  continuously  without 
cessation,  since  interruption  may  mean  the  loss  of  the  lives  of  im- 
prisoned miners.  The  exchange  of  crews  should  be  made  at  a  base 
where  the  atmosphere  of  the  mine  is  normal  air.  The  base  should 


MINE  RESCUE  AND  FIRST-AID  OPERATIONS  283 

be  moved  forward  as  rapidly  as  the  restored  ventilation  will  admit. 
Those  parts  of  the  mine  which  indicate  the  least  physical  vio- 
lence should  be  the  first  to  be  explored,  since  in  these  quarters 
there  is  the  greater  chance  of  rinding  live  men.  In  those  parts 
of  the  mine  where  great  physical  violence  is  manifest,  such  as 
wrecked  cars,  distorted  tracks  and  broken  machinery,  the  proba- 
bility of  finding  life  is  remote.  However,  after  the  outlying  dis- 
tricts in  which  men  were  known  to  be  at  work  or  districts  to  which 
the  men  may  have  retreated  for  safety  have  been  explored,  the 
innermost  workings  should  be  explored  to  ascertain  the  presence 
of  fire  which  frequently  follows  a  mine  explosion.  The  discovery 
and  extinction  of  a  fire  by  the  rescuers  may  prevent  a  second  ex- 
plosion when  the  ventilation  is  restored,  especially  if  the  mine  lib- 
erates explosive  gas. 

A  rescue  crew  wearing  breathing  apparatus  should  consist  of  a 
unit  of  not  less  than  five  well-trained  men.  Each  unit  when  in  the 
advance  should  be  supported  by  a  similar  unit  acting  as  a  reserve 
at  the  base.  The  presence  of  a  reserve  crew  has  been  fully  justi- 
fied rescue  in  actual  operation  as  being  most  essential  to  the  safety 
of  the  advance  crew. 

A  crew  should  not  proceed  into  irrespirable  gases  a  distance 
beyond  which  it  would  be  unable  to  carry  one  of  its  members  to  fresh 
air.  This  distance  necessarily  is  governed  by  the  character  of  the 
road  over  which  the  crew  may  travel  and  the  nature  of  the  obstruc- 
tions passed  over. 

Thv  physical  condition  of  the  men  composing  a  reserve  crew 
should  be  determined  by  a  physician  prior  to  the  crew's  engaging 
in  rescue  exploration  work.  Only  such  as  are  in  good  health  and 
have  no  organic  physiological  defects  should  be  permitted  to  engage 
in  rescue  work  involving  the  use  of  breathing  apparatus.  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  work,  at  the  beginning  and  termination  of 
each  shift,  the  pulse  and  respiration  of  each  man  should  be  taken 
and  recorded. 

The  apparatus  should  be  carefully  examined  and  tested  by  a 
competent  person  as  well  as  by  each  member  of  a  crew  and  a  record 
made  of  each  test.  Just  prior  to  entering  the  mine  the  crew  should 
wear  the  apparatus  in  the  presence  of  formaldehyde  gas  to  deter- 
mine if  all  parts  are  secure  against  the  admission  of  external  air. 
Sulphur  dioxide  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  testing  the  apparatus, 


284  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

since  it  is  absorbed  by  the  caustic  potash  or  caustic  soda  in  the  re- 
generator. 

All  types  of  breathing  apparatus  using  compressed  oxygen  as 
the  source  of  the  breathable  air  should  be  so  constructed  that  the 
entire  circulating  system  may  be  put  under  pressure  by  the  admis- 
sion of  oxygen  or  compressed  air.  This  method  would  admit  of 
determining  a  leakage  under  a  pressure  less  than  the  pressure  re- 
quired to  operate  the  relief  valve.  A  water  gauge  placed  on  the 
circuit  would  plainly  indicate  any  loss  of  pressure  due  to  leakage. 
The  surplus  oxygen  which  is  generally  left  in  the  oxygen  supply 
tanks  could  well  be  used  for  making  such  tests. 

The  flow  of  oxygen  in  two  German  types  of  breathing  ap- 
paratus— the  Draeger  and  Westphalia — depends  upon  the  joint  use 
of  a  reducing  valve  and  an  injector  nozzle,  whereas  the  English 
type  of  Fleuss-Proto  depends  upon  the  single  action  of  a  reducing 
valve,  the  injector  nozzle  being  eliminated. 

The  above  emphasizes  the  importance  of  frequent  examination 
of  the  injector  nozzle  to  insure  no  clogging  by  the  caustic  potash, 
which  may  be  carried  over  from  the  regenerator  and  deposited  in 
the  injector  compartment. 

OPERATION  OF  THE  CREWS. 

In  order  that  rescue  work  may  continue  without  cessation,  the 
crews  should  be  organized  in  parties  of  five,  including  a  captain. 
Two  crews  should  constitute  a  brigade  and  their  hours  of  work  and 
rest  should  coincide.  By  the  use  of  eight  crews,  constituing  four 
brigades,  which  will  necessitate  the  services  of  forty  men,  the 
brigades  may  work  in  shifts  of  four  hours  and  rest  for  six  hours 
and  have  two  hours  in  which  to  eat  and  charge  and  test  the  ap- 
paratus. 

Recent  mine  rescue  maneuvers  held  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and 
Rock  Springs,  Wyoming,  demonstrated  that  the  above  plan  is  prac- 
ticable and  that  for  continuous  duty  exceeding  forty-eight  hours  the 
crews  should  not  be  required  to  undergo  more  than  two  periods  of 
four  hours'  duration  in  twenty-four  hours.  These  periods  of  four 
hours  should  be  divided  so  each  crew  will  work  alternately  one  and 
one-half  hours  at  advance  and  reserve.  A  large  number  of  operators 
throughout  the  country  have  purchased  breathing  apparatus  and 
a  number  of  the  large  corporations  have  equipped  training  stations 
and  rescue  and  fire-fighting  cars  and  have  systematically  trained 
miners  and  underground  officials  in  the  use  of  the  apparatus,  and 


MINE  RESCUE  AND  FIRST-AID  OPERATIONS  285 

are  prepared,  in  case  of  disaster,  to  formulate  a  rescue  organization, 
but  there  are  a  large  number  of  operations  whicn  have  lew  appa- 
ratus and  few  well-trained  operatives,  consequently  are  not  in  a 
position  alone  to  carry  on  an  aggressive  rescue  campaign.  This 
condition  fully  warrants  advocating  the  establishment  of  Joint  Res- 
cue Stations  in  all  mining  centers.  By  establishing  joint  stations 
and  keeping  a  sufficient  number  of  crews  in  training,  and  conducting 
rescue  maneuvers  at  intervals,  the  organization  would  at  all  times 
be  in  condition  to  render  the  most  efficient  service.  To  accom- 
plish such  an  organization  the  co-operation  of  the  various  operators, 
miners  and  rescue  crews  should  be  promoted  and  this  Congress 
may  be  in  a  position  to  further  such  a  movement  by  an  endorse- 
ment or  by  words  of  encouragement  among  the  mining  fraternity. 

The  Bureau  of  Mines  has  been  engaged  for  the  past  five  years 
in  an  endeavor  to  reduce  mine  accidents,  and  in  this  endeavor  has 
installed  six  rescue  stations  and  eight  rescue  cars  which  are  equipped 
with  types  of  all  modern  appliances,  such  as  breathing  apparatus 
and  resuscitating  devices.  Several  thousand  miners  throughout  the 
mining  centers  have  been  trained  by  the  Bureau  in  the  care  and  use 
of  the  apparatus,  and  at  present  an  effort  is  being  made  to  secure 
the  joint  co-operation  of  the  operators  and  miners  in  the  conduct  of 
mine  rescue  maneuvers.  It  is  pleasing  to  relate  that  these  endeavors 
have  been  met  with  a  hearty  response  both  in  the  East  and  the 
West.  These  maneuvers  will  be  continued  at  those  mines  where 
the  co-operation  of  the  operators  and  miners  may  be  obtained,  and 
within  the  next  two  or  three  years  it  is  hoped  the  mine  rescue 
propaganda  will  have  reached  all  the  mining  centers  in  the  country 
and  that  mine  rescue  work  will  have  advanced  to  a  uniform  standard 
of  procedure  and  proficiency.  There  is  no  character  of  work  which 
requires  a  higher  degree  of  organization  and  discipline  than  that  of 
mine  rescue  or  mine  recovery  work. 

First  Aid  to  the  Injured. 

First  aid  to  the  injured  administered  by  trained  miners  is  an 
effective  agency  in  saving  life  and  reducing  suffering  from  acci- 
dents. The  function  of  a  first-aid  man  is  to  promptly  relieve  the 
injured  by  placing  him  in  the  most  comfortable  position  and  treat 
his  injuries  in  such  a  manner  as  will  admit  of  transporting  him  to 
a  place  where  he  may  receive  the  attention  of  a  physician  or  sur- 
geon, without  further  complicating  his  injury. 


286  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

First  Aid  Organization. 

Touching  upon  first  aid  organization  the  speaker  can  do  no 
better  than  reproduce  a  statement  contained  in  a  recent  publication* 
of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  for  which,  in  part,  your  speaker  is  re- 
sponsible : 

"To  make  first  aid  a  success  and  to  render  it  most  effi- 
cient, it  is  necessary  to  have  the  interest  and  co-operation  of 
the  mine  operators,  mine  surgeon,  mine  superintendent,  and 
foreman.  The  operators  can  be  of  great  assistance  by  provid- 
ing a  convenient  meeting  room  and  fitting  it  out  with  first-aid 
equipment.  The  surgeon  can  aid  by  arranging  lectures  and 
acting  as  director  and  instructor  of  the  association.  The 
superintendent  and  foreman  can  help  by  encouraging  the  men 
to  attend  the  meetings  and  by  attending  and  taking  an  active 
part  themselves. 

"The  purpose  of  a  first-aid  organization  should  be  to  in- 
struct and  train  men  to  assist  those  who  may  be  injured  or 
rendered  helpless,  to  promote  good  fellowship  among  its  mem- 
bers, and  to  enlist  individual  and  public  interest  in  the  social 
betterment  and  public  health  of  the  town  or  community. 

"The  officers  of  the  association  should  consist  of  a  presi- 
dent, vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer,  and  medical  director. 
The  first  four  officers  should  be  elected  annually.  Their  duties 
are  similar  to  those  of  like  officers  in  other  associations. 

"The  membership  can  be  made  up  of  active  and  associate 
members.  The  active  members  should  be  divided  into  squads 
or  teams  of  six  men,  including  one  captain,  one  patient,  and 
four  stretcher  bearers. 

"The  election  or  appointment  of  the  captains  of  the  differ- 
ent squads  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  have  them  well  dis- 
tributed about  different  sections  of  the  mine.  The  associate 
membership  should  be  made  up  of  those  of  the  community 
who  are  interested  in  lectures  on  public  health  and  social  welfare 
and  are  willing  to  help  first-aid  work,  but  do  not  wish  to  take 
the  practice  drills. 

"The  following  committees  should  be  appointed :  Executive 
Committee,  Membership  Committee  and  Social  Committee. 
Of  course,  it  may  be  necessary  at  times  to  appoint  other 

'Miners'  Circular  8,  Department  of  the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Mines,  First- 
Aid  Instructions  for  Miners,  Washington,  D.  C. 


MINE  RESCUE  AND  FIRST-AID  OPERATIONS  287 

committees.  The  Executive  Committee  should  consist  of  the 
president  of  the  association,  the  mine  surgeon,  the  mine  super- 
intendent, and  the  captains  of  the  different  squads.  The 
Membership  and  Social  Committees  should  be  appointed  by  the 
president.  The  Executive  Committee  should  have  charge  of 
the  management  of  the  association  and  arrangements  for  con- 
tests and  competitive  drills  among  the  different  squads.  The 
Membership  Committee  should  encourage  their  friends  and 
fellow  workers  to  join  the  association.  The  Social  Committee 
should  arrange  for  entertainments  held  under  the  auspices  of 
the  association." 

The  circular  from  which  the  above  is  abstracted  is  recom- 
mended to  those  interested  in  first  aid  as  a  guide  for  instruction  to 
miners  and  mine  officials. 

First  aid,  to  be  efficient,  should  be  under  the  personal  direction 
of  a  surgeon  or  some  mine  official.  Employees  in  all  branches  of 
employment  should  be  trained,  and  these  men  should  be  well  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  underground  workings.  First-aid  packets 
should  be  carried  by  each  first-aid  man,  and  first-aid  cabinets,  under 
seal,  should  be  placed  at  convenient  places  within  the  mine.  Stretch- 
ers and  blankets  should  also  be  distributed  in  the  different  sections 
of  the  mine  for  emergency  use.  Each  employee  should  be  made 
familiar  with  the  location  of  all  the  first-aid  equipment  kept  under- 
ground. 

Detention  rooms  underground  should  be  placed  near  the  shaft 
bottom  or  near  the  drift  openings,  out  of  range  of  strong  ventilating 
currents,  but  they  should  be  properly  ventilated. 

On  the  surface  and  near  the  mine  or  shaft  opening  should  be 
a  first-aid  hospital  room  equipped  for  the  comfort  of  the  injured 
and  for  first-aid  treatment  prior  to  the  removal  of  the  patient  to 
his  home  or  a  hospital. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  all  the  above  specifications  are 
being  fully  complied  with  by  a  large  number  of  mine  operators  in 
several  mining  centers,  but  many  have  not  as  yet  adopted  such 
methods  for  the  care  and  relief  of  their  injured.  It  is  to  these  we 
make  an  appeal  in  the  interest  of  greater  safety. 


Storage  and  Handling  of  Explosives  in  Mines. 

CHARLES  E.  MUNROE. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


No  treatment  of  this  problem  should  be  worthy  of  serious 
consideration  which  did  not  recognize  the  large  number  of  vari- 
ables, of  opposite  signs,  that  enter  into  it  and  that  must  be  so 
balanced  as  to  produce  the  best  practicable  and  operative  result. 
First  among  these  variables  is  that  of  the  explosives  devised  for 
use.  Major  Cundill,  one  of  Her  Majesty's  Inspectors  of  Explosives, 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  assemble  in  1889  in  his  Dictionary 
of  Explosives,  a  descriptive  list  of  those  recognized  up  to  that  time. 
This  met  with  such  acceptance  that  in  1895  (Lt.  Col.  Cundill  having 
died  in  the  interim)  Captain  Thomson,  of  the  same  service,  brought 
out  a  second  edition  of  this  work,  wherein  it  appears  that  at  that 
time  upwards  of  1000  "explosives"  were  so  sufficiently  recognized 
as  to  be  recorded.  The  value  of  such  a  presentation  as  that  initiated 
by  Col.  Cundill  was  so  well  recognized  that  similar  publications, 
based  on  his,  appeared  in  other  countries,  a  notable  and  most  recent 
example  being  the  Dictonaire  des  Maiteres  Explosives  par  le  Dr.  J. 
Daniel,  published  with  a  preface  by  Berthelot,  in  Paris,  in  1902.  It 
is  difficult  to  enumerate  "explosives"  from  Daniel's  dictionary  be- 
cause he  includes  the  primary  substances,  many  of  which,  as  demon- 
strated by  Berthelot  possess  explosive  properties,  and  as  further 
demonstrated,  in  such  instances  as  that  of  the  trinitroluenes,  may  be 
directly  used  as  explosives  in  many  situations,  but  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  number  of  "explosives"  recorded  by  him  markedly 
exceeds  that  of  the  1895  edition  of  Cundill's  Dictionary.  It  is  quite 
to  be  expected  that  in  the  intervening  years  the  number  has  been 
greatly  added  to. 

For  examples,  one  may  note  the  report  of  H.  M.  Inspectors 
of  Explosives  for  1910  when  29  "explosives"  were  added  to  the 
Authorized  List  and  22  to  the  Authorizable  List  of  51  in  all,  or  to 
its  report  for  1912  when  30  "explosives"  were  added  to  the  Au- 
thorized List  and  35  to  the  Authorizable,  or  65  in  all.  A  measure  of 
growth  may  perhaps  be  also  found  in  the  List  of  "Permitted  Ex- 


HANDLING  OF  EXPLOSIVES  IN  MINES  289 

plosives"  of  Great  Britain  which  in  1912  contained  names  and 
descriptions  of  66  explosives,  but  5  of  which  appeared  in  the  Cundill 
Dictionary  of  1895,  and  these  five  names  seemed  to  be  applied  to 
other  compositions  than  those  set  forth  within  the  Permitted  List. 
An  analogous  test  of  the  growth  in  the  number  of  explosives  may 
consist  in  a  comparison  of  those  recorded  in  the  List  of  "Permissible 
Explosives"  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines  with  those  of  the  Dic- 
tionaries. Thus  for  1913  in  Bureau  of  Mines  Technical  Paper  No. 
52  we  find  97  "explosives"  enumerated,  of  which  80  per  cent,  at 
least  are  newly  devised.  Time  is  not  at  command  in  which  to  search 
the  literature  for  every  explosive  composition  of  matter  proposed 
or  in  use  but  it  is  not  under  the  mark  to  affirm  the  belief  that  they 
number  1500  and  this  number  will  undoubtedly  be  greatly  in- 
creased in  the  near  future.  Naturally,  since  the  Dictionary  records 
are  historical  as  well  as  concurrent  the  number  of  explosives  in 
use  &  the  present  time  is  but  a  fraction,  say  15  per  cent,  of  the 
total,  and  of  these  but  a  portion,  say  70  per  cent,  or  about  150,  are 
in  use  in  mines  to-day.  These  150,  however,  exhibit  many  variations 
in  properties.  Thus  the  "Permissible  Explosives"  are,  by  the  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Mines,  grouped  by  their  compositions  into  Ammonium 
nitrate,  Hydrated,  Organic  nitrate  and  Nitroglycerin  explosives, 
which  renders  it  evident  that  the  members  of  each  class  differ  in 
properties  from  the  members  of  each  of  the  other  classes,  and  since, 
as  shown  by  the  data  presented  in  Bureau  of  Mines  T.  P.  No.  52, 
the  rate  of  detonation  of  each  explosive  in  a  class  differs  from 
that  of  any  other  explosive  in  the  same  class  it  is  correct  to  assume 
that  it  differs  in  its  other  behaviors  and  properties  likewise,  and 
so  far  as  data  on  these  points  have  been  secured  from  experience  or 
experiment  the  assumption  has  been  confirmed. 

But  to  the  inherent  differences  which  characterizes  each  ex- 
plosive there  is  added  in  practice  the  differences  arising  in  its  man- 
ner of  preparation  for  storage,  transportation  for  storage,  transpor- 
tation and  use  such  as  the  different  forms  and  sizes  of  cartridges, 
the  different  kinds  of  wrappers  in  which  the  explosive  is  inclosed, 
both  as  to  material  and  treatment,  and  the  different  ways  in  which 
the  cartridges  are  packed,  such  as  in  sawdust  or  in  cartons  or  in 
bags ;  like  those  which  have  been  used  with  non-deliquescent  free- 
running  powders. 

The  differences  pointed  out  constitute  but  a  part  of  the  vari- 
ables entering  into  the  problem  whose  solution  is  sought,  and 


290  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

evidently,  since  the  problem  set  involves  as  well  all  conditions  and 
varieties  of  mining  it  must  be  considered  broadly  to  embrace  all 
these  variables.  Security  with  efficiency  will  best  be  attained  by 
regulations  which  are  determined  by  the  extreme  properties  of  the 
members  of  the  group.  Such  regulations  will  necessarily  be  exacting 
and  severe.  They  may  be  modified  in  the  case  of  a  particular  ex- 
plosive from  a  special  consideration  of  the  properties  of  this  single 
explosive,  but  this  modifying  should  be  done  only  by  a  properly 
constituted  authority,  such  as  a  governmental  official,  or,  when  no 
provision  exists  for  action  by  such  an  official,  only  the  employer, 
or  such  person  as  must  bear  the  responsibility  in  case  of  accident, 
should  be  permitted  to  change  the  regulations  and  he  should  stand 
ready  to  prove  that  he  was  justified  in  doing  so.  That  this  discrimi- 
nation between  explosives,  due  to  an  observed  difference  in  their 
properties  is  practiced  may  be  proven  by  reference  to  the  "Table 
showing  Distances  from  Protected  Works  for  Magazines  and  other 
Danger  Buildings, "-j-prepared  at  the  Home  Office,  England,  where 
the  distances  between  the  buildings  exacted  for  gunpowder  are  in 
repeated  instances  much  less  than  those  exacted  for  other  explo- 
sives, or  by  reference  to  the  British  Order  in  Council  of  June  11, 
1910,  under  Section  50  of  the  Explosives  Act  of  1875,  whereby  tri- 
nitro-toluol,  which  then  was  and  to-day  is  widely  used  per  se  as  an 
explosive,  and  which  is  classed  as  a  high  explosive,  was  exempted 
"from  being  deemed  to  be  an  explosive  during  manufacture  and 
storage  unconditionally,  and  when  conveyed  or  imported  provided 
it  is  properly  packed,"*  it  being  stated  that  this  ruling  for  this  sub- 
stance was  made  "in  view  of  its  relative  insensitiveness  and  free- 
dom from  dangerous  properties." 

I  do  not  cite  these  examples  in  endorsement  of  the  action  taken. 
In  fact  some  subsequent  occurrences  cast  a  doubt  on  the  wisdom 
of  the  later  ruling.  I  simply  wish  to  emphasize  my  opinion  that 
there  should  be  no  relaxing  of  stringent  regulation  except  on  the 
advice  or  permission  of  a  competent  authority  who  can  give  an  in- 
telligent and  satisfactory  reason  for  making  the  modification  and 
that  it  should  never  be  done  simply  for  the  sake  of  convenience 
or  to  save  time,  labor  or  money,  for  in  the  long  run  such  a  proceed- 
ing will  be  found  very  poor  economy. 

In  dealing  with  explosives  it  is  to  be  always  borne  in  mind  that 


tThe  Manufacture  of  Explosives,  Oscar  Guttmann,  Vol.  II,  pg.  379;  1895. 
Thirty-fifth  Annual  Report  H.  M.  Insp.  Exp.,  pg.  3,  1911. 


HANDLING  OF  EXPLOSIVES  IN  MINES  291 

their  ability  to  explode  is  their  most  significant  characteristic  and 
that  this  may  be  initiated  by  a  variety  of  means  such  as  heat,  fire, 
detonation,  or  chemical  reaction  with  other  substances,  or  by  causes 
which  give  rise  to  heat,  such  as  friction  and  percussion,  hence, 
although  the  different  explosive  substances  manifest  different  de- 
grees of  sensitiveness  to  response  to  these  initiating  causes  of  ex- 
plosion, they  should  always  be  so  handled,  stored  and  used  as  to 
protect  them  from  all  of  these  influences  up  to  the  moment  of  use, 
and  no  explosive  should  ever  be  accepted  unless  it  is  packed  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  Regulations  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission governing  the  Transportation  of  Explosives,  and  then  only 
when  they  are  in  the  condition  prescribed  in  these  Regulations,  so 
that  when  placed  in  the  storage  magazine  there  is  assurance  of 
security  from  the  dangers  of  imporper  packing  or  those  which  result 
from  improper  exposure  prior  to  delivery. 

Where  any  considerable  quantity  of  explosive  is  to  be  used  it 
has  been  found  wise  to  purchase  the  material  on  specifications 
drawn  so  as  to  cover  not  only  the  quantity,  composition,  size  of 
sticks,  method  of  packing  and  time  and  place  of  delivery,  but  also 
the  date  of  manufacture.  The  importance  of  age  in  blasting  ex- 
plosives arises  from  the  fact  that  not  only  will  many  of  these  sub- 
stances undergo  unfavorable  changes  by  exposure  to  moisture,  or 
to  dry  air  and  especially  through  successive  exposures  and  that  the 
longer  they  are  kept  the  greater  likelihood  of  their  encountering 
such  exposure,  but  there  are  some  among  those  in  use  which  even 
when  carefully  protected  from  moisture  and  dryness  nevertheless 
undergo  changes  which  are  made  manifest,  among  other  evidences, 
by  a  loss  of  plasticity  by  the  cartridges,  and  with  these  changes  in  the 
constitution  of  the  mass  there  is  a  change  in  the  reliability,  uniform- 
ity of  action  or  efficiency  of  the  explosive.  I  have  already  set  forth 
elsewhere  the  necessity  of  securing  and  preserving  uniformity  in 
explosives.*  Of  course  where  "Permissible  Explosives"  are  pur- 
chased it  is  unnecessary  to  specify  composition  for  such  explosives 
to  be  "Permissible"  must  have  the  composition  found  at  the  Bureau 
of  Mines  for  them  when  they  were  placed  upon  the  "List." 

So  soon  as  the  explosive  in  the  original  packages  is  received 
it  should  be  placed  in  the  Storage  Magazine.  This  Storage  Mag- 
azine should  never  be  within  the  mine  itself  and  it  should  be  so 
located  at  the  surface  that  the  explosion  of  its  contents  will  not 


*The   Standardization   of  Explosives.     Charles  E.   Munroe.     Proc.  Am. 
Soc.  Testing  Materials  9,  638-41 ;  1909. 


292  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

affect  the  mine  or  injure  the  machinery  by  which  it  is  operated  or 
the  devices  by  which  the  mine  is  ventilated.  This  magazine  should 
also  be  so  located  as  not  to  menace  the  highways,  railways,  dwellings, 
school  houses  or  other  buildings,  in  the  neighborhood  or  the  ap- 
proaches to  the  mine.  Some  of  the  States  have  already  enacted 
laws  governing  this  matter.  Where  such  do  not  exist  a  guide  may 
be  found  in  the  English  Table  of  Distances  already  alluded  to  and 
in  the  Proposed  American  Table.f  Naturally  in  locating  this  maga- 
zine due  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  readiness  with  which 
it  may  be  approached  from  road  or  railway  for  the  delivery  of 
explosives  to  it  and  the  readiness  and  ease  with  which  the  supplies 
may  be  conveyed  from  it  to  the  mine  where  they  are  to  be  used. 
The  boxes  of  explosives  should  be  so  placed  that  the  cartridges  lie 
on  their  sides  and  these  boxes  should  be  turned  over  at  least  once 
a  month  if  they  contain  any  liquid  explosive,  such  as  nitroglycerin, 
as  a  component  of  the  mixture.  They  should  not  be  stacked  higher 
than  the  height  at  which  the  magazine  storekeeper  can  easily  reach 
them  when  standing  on  the  floor  of  the  magazine,  because  he  may 
otherwise,  when  attempting  to  remove  the  upper  boxes,  allow  one 
to  drop,  which  is  hazardous.  The  explosives  should  be  so  stored 
that  each  consignment  is  in  a  pile  by  itself  and  the  older  explosives 
should  be  first  used,  purchases  being  made  with  such  relation  to  the 
stock  on  hand,  and  the  rate  of  consumption  that  none  of  the  supply 
becomes  more  than  four  months  old  if  possible.  It  is  considered 
bad  practice  to  store  different  classes  of  explosives  in  the  same 
magazine,  members  of  the  nitrate  class,  such  as  black  blasting 
powder,  being,  in  good  practice,  stored  apart  from  those  of  the  nitro- 
glycerin class.  It  is  apparent  that  if  explosives  of  the  hydrated  class 
were  stored  in  the  same  room  with  a  dry  deliquescent  explosive  cir- 
cumstances might  occur  through  which  not  only  would  the  hydrated 
explosive  become  more  or  less  completely  dehydrated  but  under 
which  the  deliquescent  explosive  would  absorb  more  or  less  moisture, 
and  thus  both  explosives  would  have  deteriorated.  Another,  though 
less  important  reason,  for  having  but  one  kind  of  explosive  in  a 
magazine  is  that  where  there  is  more  than  one  kind  present  and  an 
accident  of  the  kind  styled  "spontaneous  explosion"  occurs  there 
is  always  something  of  a  doubt  as  to  which  of  the  explosives  gave 
rise  to  accident  with  the  result  that  there  may  be  a  loss  of  con- 
fidence in  a  really  trusworthy  explosive. 

•{•Bulletin  No.  17,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,  pg.  65;  1911. 


HANDLING  OF  EXPLOSIVES  IN  MINES  293 

Under  no  circumstances  should  detonators  or  electric  detonators 
(sometimes  commercially  known  as  blasting  caps,  dynamite  caps, 
electric  fuses,  electric  igniters  and  by  other  names)  or  any  similar 
devices  containing  "fulminate"  or  detonating  compositions  be  stored 
in  a  magazine  with  other  explosives,  nor  so  near  such  a  magazine 
that  if  the  entire  stock  of  detonators  were  to  be  exploded  en  masse, 
as  by  fire,  or  a  stroke  of  lightning,  this  explosion  would  cause  the 
explosion  of  the  contents  of  the  large  magazine. 

No  other  substances  or  things  besides  explosives,  recording 
instruments  and  magazine  shoes  and  perhaps  magazine  clothes, 
should  be  allowed  in  an  explosives  magazine.  Tools  of  all  kinds, 
paint  supplies,  oily  waste  or  rags,  or  any  other  thing  which  may 
give  rise  to  fire  should  be  especially  prohibited.  The  storage  maga- 
zine for  explosives  and  the  small  detonator  magazine  should  be 
placed  in  charge  of  a  specially  careful  magazine  storekeeper  who 
should  be  required  not  only  to  receive  and  issue  all  explosive  sup- 
plies, to  keep  an  account  of  them,  and  to  read  the  recording  instru- 
ments, but  to  see  that  all  regulations  relative  to  the  magazines  are 
obeyed.  He  should  see  to  it  that  the  magazine  is  kept  free  from  dirt 
and  grit;  that  no  explosive  has  become  spilled  upon  or  has  exuded 
out  upon  the  floor  or  any  of  the  boxes;  that  the  packages  are  intact; 
that  the  ventilation  is  maintained  in  the  best  condition  as  deter- 
mined by  atmospheric  changes ;  and  that  no  one  enters  the  magazine 
without  first  putting  on  magazine  shoes  and,  preferably,  wearing 
magazine  clothes.  The  shoes  should  be  of  felt  and  sufficiently  large 
to  go  over  the  ordinary  foot  wear.  They  are  to  be  kept  just  inside 
the  magazine  door  and  are  put  on  and  removed  while  the  person 
is  standing  on  the  landing  outside.  The  magazine  suit  is  preferably 
a  woolen  union  suit,  made  without  pockets  so  that  matches  and 
metallic  things,  such  as  knives  and  keys,  may  not  be  carried  into 
the  magazines. 

Where  any  quantity  of  explosive  is  being  stored  it  is  the  best 
practice  to  have  the  magazine  fitted  with  maximum  and  minimum 
thermometers  and  with  an  hygrometer  in  order  that,  by  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  ventilating  system,  the  magazine  may  be  kept  within 
the  desired  limits  of  temperature  so  far  as  possible  and  that  when 
the  moisture  content  of  the  outer  atmosphere  is  excessive  the  volume 
of  air  passing  through  may  be  reduced.  The  instruments  may  be 
read  by  the  magazine  storekeeper  or  they  may  be  so  devised  as  to 
make  automatic  records  in  the  Manager's  or  Superintendent's  office. 


294  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

The  temperature  of  the  magazine  should  not  be  allowed  to  exceed 
90°  F.  and,  with  nitroglycerin  explosives,  it  should  be  prevented,  so 
far  as  possible,  from  falling  below  50°  F. 

Should  explosives  be  received  at  the  magazine  or  become  in 
the  magazine  frozen  it  should  never  be  attempted  to  thaw  them 
by  any  but  natural  means  within  the  magazine.  This  should  be 
done  only  outside  the  magazine  in  thawers  or  thaw  houses  such  as 
are  described  in  Bulletin  No.  17  and  Technical  Paper  No.  18  of  the 
Bureau  of  Mines. 

No  boxes  of  explosives  should  ever  be  opened  within  a  maga- 
zine. This  should  be  done  in  a  shed  erected  behind  a  barricade 
separating  it  from  magazines  and  other  buildings  and  structures,  and 
from  roadways  or  other  routes  of  travel.  The  boxes  of  explosives, 
when  nailed,  should  be  opened  by  means  of  a  hardwood  wedge  and 
mallet.  No  metal  tool  should  be  used.  And  no  smoking  should  be 
allowed. 

The  explosives  magazine  should  be  dry,  cool,  well  ventilated, 
shot  proof,  fire  proof  and  protected  from  lightning  strokes.  It 
should  be  so  constructed  and  of  such  material  that  should  it  by  any 
chance  be  destroyed  by  an  explosion  of  its  contents  it  will  supply  the 
minimum  of  inflamed  or  incandescent  embers  and  of  flying  missiles. 
Such  a  structure  is  found  in  the  Bureau  of  Mines.  Magazine 
constructed  of  cement-mortar  which  is  described,  with  detailed 
specifications  for  its  erection,  by  Clarence  Hall  and  Spencer  P. 
Howell,  in  "Magazines  and  Thaw  Houses  for  Explosives"*  and  the 
advantages  it  possesses  are  therein  established  by  the  results  of 
the  test  recorded  there. 

It  is  necessary  that  explosives  be  taken  into  the  mine,  but  it 
is  a  debatable  question  as  to  the  establishment  of  magazines  under- 
ground. The  English  decision  in  this  matter  insofar  as  it  relates  to 
coal  mines  is  quite  explicit,  for  Statutory  Rules  and  Orders,  1912, 
No.  511,  states: 

"No  explosive  substance  shall  be  stored  underground  in  any 
mine.  The  owner,  agent  or  manager  of  the  mine  shall  provide  a 
suitable  place  or  places  of  storage  above  ground  for  all  explosives 
intended  to  be  used  in  the  mine  and  shall  make  suitable  provision 
conveniently  near  the  entrance  of  the  mine  for  the  storage  of  sur- 
plus explosive  brought  out  of  the  mine  at  the  end  of  each  shift. 
If  any  explosive  remains  in  the  possession  of  a  workman  at  the  end 

"Technical  Paper  No.  18.  Bureau  of  Mines,  1912. 


HANDLING  OF  EXPLOSIVES  IN  MINES  295 

of  his  shift,  either  he  shall  bring  it  with  him  out  of  the  mine  and 
return  it  at  once  to  the  place  of  storage  provided  for  the  purpose,  or 
if  the  explosive  is  required  for  a  shift  immediately  following,  he 
shall  deliver  it  personally  to  the  workman  succeeding  him  in  his 
working  place." 

And  it  further  specifies  the  exact  form  in  which  the  explosive 
shall  be  taken  into  the  mine  in  the  following : 

"No  explosive  shall  be  taken  or  used  underground  except  in 
cartridges,  and  such  cartridges  shall  be  taken  into  the  mine  and 
kept  until  about  to  be  used  for  the  charging  of  a  shot-hole  in  a 
secure  case  or  canister  containing  not  more  than  five  pounds,  and  a 
person  shall  not  have  in  use  at  one  time  in  any  one  place  more  than 
one  of  such  cases  or  canisters.  After  the  31st  day  of  March,  1913, 
no  explosive  shall  be  taken  or  used  underground  except  in  cartridges 
of  the  diameter  of  %  inch,  \y^  inches,  1  7/16  inches,  1^  inches,  or 
2  inches,  or  in  the  ironstore  mines  in  the  Cleveland  District  in  cart- 
ridges of  the  diameter  of  1  3/16  inches." 

I  am  not  convinced  that  these  provisions  are  altogether  satis- 
factory. I  doubt  the  wisdom  of  each  workman  carrying  explosives 
in  and  out  of  a  mine  for  the  chance  of  accident  increases  in  almost 
geometric  ratio  with  the  number  of  persons  handling  explosives  and 
the  jeopardy  to  persons  increases  with  the  density  of  being  about 
the  focus  of  the  explosion.  I  believe  it  safer  and  wiser  that  a  shot- 
firer  or  other  person,  chosen  for  his  intelligence,  sobriety  and  re- 
liability be  entrusted  with  the  conveyance  of  all  explosives  and 
explosions'  devices  into  or  from  a  mine  and  their  distribution  there. 
These  supplies  should  be  taken  into  the  mine  at  some  other  time  than 
when  the  men  are  making  their  entrance  or  exit  so  that  in  case  of 
accident  there  may  be  a  minimum  number  of  men  about  the  explo- 
sive. The  time  of  entrance  may  be  before  or  after  a  change  in 
the  shift  as  is  found  most  convenient  in  operation.  The  quantity 
taken  in  should  not  exceed  that  required  during  or  immediately  after 
the  working  of  the  shift.  This  of  course  requires  that  the  re- 
sponsible authority  shall  keep  himself  informed  of  the  actual  prog- 
ress of  the  work,  the  amount  and  kind  of  blasting  to  be  done  and 
the  kind  and  quantity  of  explosive  needed.  But  this  requirement  is 
one  only  which  good  management  of  necessity  demands  and  it  is 
therefore  not  burdensome  or  inconsiderate. 

If  this  practice  of  taking  the  entire  quantity  of  explosives  and 
explosion  devices  required  in  a  single  shift  at  once  be  followed, 
provision  must  be  made  for  its  storage  during  the  shift  until  dis- 


296  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

tributed  to  the  working  places  in  the  mine,  and  since  the  material 
must  be  protected  from  moisture,  accidents  of  various  kinds,  and 
improper  distribution,  it  should  be  enclosed  in  a  magazine  of  some 
kind.  Such  a  structure  should  be  so  located  as  while  allowing  of 
convenient  access  from  the  various  parts  of  the  mine,  that  is  while 
being  centrally  located  with  reference  to  the  parts  of  the  mine  that 
are  being  worked,  it  shall  do  the  least  possible  damage  to  the  means 
of  access  to  and  about  the  mine.  If  possible  it  should  be  sufficiently 
remote  from  the  regular  routes  of  travel  in  the  mine  that  there  may 
not  be  any  large  number  of  persons  near  it  at  any  time.  It  should 
be  surrounded  by  barricades  of  loose  noncombustible  material  which 
may  serve  to  dampen  an  explosion  and  prevent  its  causing  the  ex- 
plosion of  gas-air  or  dust-air  mixtures  about  or  at  least  diminishing 
their  magnitude.  And  finally  it  seems  not  impossible  to,  in  many 
instances,  arrange  safety  valves  about  the  magazine  alcove  room  or 
chamber  such  as  a  lightly  closed  shaft  which  may  provide  a  vent 
similar  to  the  explosion  doors  on  blast  furnaces  and  stoves,  in  case 
of  an  explosion. 

No  nailed  or  sealed  boxes  of  explosives  or  explosion  device 
which  require  force  to  open  them  should  be  opened  in  the  mine. 
They  should  be  opened  at  the  opening  shed  on  the  surface.  Ex- 
plosives should  be  taken  into  the  mine  in  their  original  packages 
with  the  covers  loose  but  secured,  preferably  by  gummed  paper 
strips.  If  smaller  amounts  only  are  needed  they  may  be  conveyed 
in  split  market  baskets,  preferably  lined  with  canvas,  and  provided 
with  a  canvas  cover,  or  in  indurated  fiber  buckets  provided  with  a 
cover  of  the  same  material,  or  of  wood,  and  small  lots  may  be  con- 
veyed about  the  mine  in  similar  containers.  Under  rio  circum- 
stances should  detonators  or  analogous  devices  be  brought  into  the 
mine  or  distributed  about  the  mine  in  the  same  containers  with 
explosives.  Primers,  that  is  sticks  or  parts  of  sticks  in  which  the 
detonators  are  inserted,  should  be  made  up  at  the  working  place, 
but  should  there  be  found  a  good  reason  for  making  up  a  quantity 
in  advance  they  should  be  made,  if  in  small  quantity,  in  a  secluded 
and  mound  protected  place  within  the  mine,  or  if  in  large  quantity, 
on  the  surface  and  then  they  should  be  brought  into  and  distributed 
in  the  mine  entirely  apart  from  other  explosives.  They  should 
preferably  be  brought  in  just  before  distrbution.  There  should  be 
a  strict  accounting  at  all  points  for  the  explosives  and  explosion 
devices  issued  and  used  or  returned. 


HANDLING  OF  EXPLOSIVES  IN  MINES  297 

In  blasting,  after  charging  the  holes  and  before  the  blast  is 
fired,  a  careful  search  should  be  made  about  the  room  or  working 
place  and  any  explosives  and  explosions  devices  not  then  used  in 
charging  these  holes  should  be  removed  to  a  sufficient  distance  from 
the  blast  and  so  protected  that  they  cannot  be  exploded  by  sympathy, 
or  concussion  or  impact  from  them,  and  cannot  possibly  become 
commingled  with  the  debris  from  the  blast.  The  occurrences  re- 
ported of  explosives  being  found  in  mined  coal  as  it  marked  the 
breaker  as  a  merchant  coal  when  being  stowed,  indicate  that  this 
search  has  not  always  been  thorough.  A  strict  system  of  account- 
ing will  tend  to  promote  efficiency  in  this  direction. 

The  "handling  of  explosives"  might  be  considered  to  include 
the  loading  of  the  holes.  So  much  has,  however,  been  written  on 
this  subject  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  occupy  your  time  in  re- 
hearsing it  further  than  to  call  attention,  perhaps  again,  to  Tech- 
nical Papers  Nos.  6,  7  and  17  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  as  contain- 
ing calculable  experimental  data  in  reference  to  the  loading  and 
firing  of  charges.  The  last  mentioned,  styled"  The  Effect  of 
Stemming  on  the  Efficiency  of  Explosives,"  by  Walter  C.  Snelling 
and  Clarence  Hall,  is  possibly  the  most  novel  and  original.  It  may 
interest  you  to  learn  that  the  manager  of  a  considerable  mine  has 
reported  a  saving  of  $50,000  in  his  explosives'  account  in  a  single 
year  by  following  the  methods  for  using  stemming  taught  by  this 
research. 


The  Use  and  Abuse  of  Explosives. 

ROBERT  W.  GUNNELL, 
POTTSVILLE,  PA. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  history  of  the  evo- 
lution and  practical  application  of  explosives  is  very  interesting, 
but  the  lateness  of  the  hour  makes  it  necessary  to  confine  these 
remarks  to  the  present-day  problems  of  the  mining  operator,  par- 
ticularly in  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia. 

The  uses  of  explosives  in  coal  mining  are  more  or  less  obvious ; 
the  abuses  are  equally  obvious  to  one  who  has  studied  the  situation 
carefully,  and  these  abuses  grow  out  of  indifference  to  or  errors  in 
consideration  of  the  following  matters: 

First. — The  selection  of  the  most  efficient  explosive. 

Second. — The  selection  of  the  proper  blasting  caps  and  fuse 
or  electric  fuses  and  blasting  equipment. 

Third. — The  proper  storage  of  the  explosive. 
Fourth. — The  drilling  and  loading  of  the  bore  hole. 
Fifth.— The  firing  of  the  shot. 

The  selection  of  the  explosive,  on  the  face  of  it,  would  appear 
to  be  a  simple  matter,  but  it  is  complicated  in  several  unlooked-for 
ways.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  quite  a  marked  apathy  on  the 
subject  among  those  whom  you  might  expect  to  be  most  interested 
in  it.  In  the  second  place,  there  exists  a  peculiar  relationship  be- 
tween the  operator  and  the  miners  who  use  the  explosive.  The 
mine  owner  is,  of  course,  first  an  operator;  but  he  is,  second,  a 
dealer  in  explosives.  The  miners  work  on  the  contract  system: 
they  buy  their  own  supplies,  including  the  explosives  used.  The 
coal  operator  either  directly  or  indirectly  sells  the  explosives  to 
the  miner  and,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  he  is  affected  by  the 
merchant-customer  relationship  with  his  men. 


USE  AND  ABUSE  OF  EXPLOSIVES  299 

It  is  not  his  policy  to  require  his  miner  customers  to  use  an 
explosive  with  which  they  are  not  well  satisfied.  But  unfortunately 
the  preferences  of  the  miners  do  not  always  coincide  with  the  best 
interests  of  the  operator. 

The  average  coal  miner  to-day  will  tell  you  the  best  dynamite 
for  his  use  is  the  strongest  dynamite,  and  he  will  invariably  demand 
it  at  the  store  magazine.  So  you  have  the  miner  on  the  one  hand, 
who  always  wants  an  explosive  of  the  highest  possible  power  and 
an  operator,  on  the  other  hand,  who  is  often  compliant  or  indifferent. 
It  is  largely  a  result  of  this  situation,  I  think,  that  throughout  the 
mining  fields  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  the  explosives 
in  use  are  generally  of  too  strong  a  grade. 

The  remedy,  it  seems  to  me,  lies  in  the  education  of  the  miners. 
They  should  first  be  brought  to  realize  that  the  best  explosive  is 
not  always  the  strongest  explosive,  or  the  weakest  explosive,  or 
any  other  explosive  than  the  one  that  is  found  to  be  peculiarly 
suited  to  their  immediate  needs.  Whether  this  can  be  accomplished 
by  the  average  mining  operator  with  his  many  other  daily  problems, 
is  doubtful.  A  trained  explosive  engineer  installed  at  the  colliery 
and  given  full  authority  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  selection 
and  use  of  explosives,  could  get  results.  Wherever  such  officials 
ha,ve  been  employed  they  have  been  found  to  be  paying  investments. 

The  next  matter  to  consider  is  the  selection  of  the  proper 
blasting  supplies.  Until  the  Bureau  of  Mines  some  time  ago 
demonstrated  that  the  effectiveness  of  an  explosive  bore  a  direct 
relationship  to  the  degree  of  initial  impulse  which  caused  its  detona- 
tion, it  was  not  generally  realized  that  a  detonator  or  blasting  cap 
of  high  grade  would  produce  much  better  results  with  the  same 
explosive  than  one  of  lesser  strength.  Since  that  time  the  tendency 
has  been  toward  the  use  of  blasting  caps  of  higher  grade.  The  old 
No.  3  and  No.  4  caps  have  about  disappeared  from  the  market, 
and  the  No.  5  strength  is  due  to  go  the  way  of  the  others.  Un- 
doubtedly in  coming  years  we  will  see  nothing  but  No.  6,  No.  7 
and  even  No.  8  caps,  in  general  use. 

In  selecting  the  blasting  cap,  reference  should  be  had  to  the 
least  sensitive  explosive  used  in  the  mine,  under  the  least  favorable 
conditions.  The  low-grade  nitroglycerine  powders,  the  ammonia 


300  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

powders,  and  the  gelatine  powders  are  the  least  sensitive  of  the 
explosives  in  common  use,  and  the  selection  of  the  detonator  should 
be  made  with  reference  to  the  use  of  these  explosives,  rather  than 
the  higher-grade  nitroglycerine  types  which  might  be  in  use  in 
other  parts  of  the  mine. 

Similarly,  the  fuse  should  be  selected  with  regard  to  the 
wettest  part  of  the  operation  rather  than  with  the  average  condition 
in  mind. 

In  considering  the  matter  of  proper  storage  of  dynamite  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  nitroglycerine  high  explosives  in 
use  to-day  are  susceptible  to  changes  brought  about  by  variations 
in  temperature  and  moisture.  If  some  time  you  will  take  a  pinch 
of  dynamite  and,  with  a  fine  pair  of  tweezers  and  a  magnifying 
glass,  pick  out  all  the  little  white  crystals  you  find  in  it  and  leave 
them  on  a  window-sill  over  night,  when  you  come  back  the  next 
morning  you  will  find  nothing  there  but  a  drop  of  water.  The 
crystals  that  you  picked  out  were  either  nitrate  of  soda  or  ammonia, 
or  both.  These  substances  are  extremely  hygroscopic — that  is  to 
say,  they  have  the  faculty  of  absorbing  enough  moisture  from  the 
air  to  dissolve  themselves. 

The  mixture  which  is  used  in  dynamite  to  absorb  the  nitro- 
glycerine has  a  greater  affinity  for  moisture  than  it  has  for  nitro- 
glycerine. In  other  words,  it  will  throw  out  the  nitroglycerine  it 
holds  and  take  up  water  in  its  place  every  chance  it  gets.  If  you 
will  take  a  little  dynamite,  put  it  in  a  glass  funnel,  and  pour  a 
few  drops  of  water  on  it,  after  a  while  you  will  see  the  nitroglyc- 
erine trickling  down  the  stem  of  the  funnel,  while  the  water  remains 
absorbed  by  the  dry  substance.  So  you  can  see  what  happens  to 
your  dynamite  when  it  is  stored  where  the  little  white  crystals  can 
attract  a  large  amount  of  water  from  the  air. 

I  came  in  contact  with  a  case  the  other  day  where  a  nitro- 
glycerine dynamite  of  low  grade — 10  per  cent. — had  been  exposed 
for  a  comparatively  short  time  to  a  very  damp  atmosphere,  and  4 
per  cent,  of  the  nitroglycerine  had  "leaked"  out  and  disappeared! 

All  ordinary  dynamites  freeze  at  about  45  degrees  F.,  and  when 
partly  frozen  lose  their  sensitiveness  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
requires  a  very  powerful  blasting  cap  to  explode  them.  Even  when 


USE  AND  ABUSE  OF  EXPLOSIVES  301 

detonated  under  such  conditions  the  explosion  is  often  incomplete 
and  accompanied  by  heavy  smoke  and  fumes.  In  winter,  there- 
fore, the  dynamite  should  always  be  thoroughly  thawed  before  it 
is  issued  to  the  miner,  preferably  by  temporary  storage  in  a  special 
magazine  heated  to  85  degrees  F.  by  circulating  hot  water  or  ex- 
haust steam.  Never,  under  any  circumstances,  attempt  to  thaw 
dynamite  by  immersing  it  in  hot  water  or  laying  it  near  an  open 
fire  or  bare  steam  pipes.  These  methods  are  not  only  very  dan- 
gerous, but  they  are  nearly  always  ineffective. 

The  next  direction  in  which  explosives  are  often  abused  is  in 
connection  with  the  drilling  and  loading  of  the  bore  holes.  We 
have  learned  that  when  a  high  explosive  is  detonated  in  the  open 
its  force  is  exerted  equally  in  all  directions,  but  that  when  partially 
and  unevenly  confined  it  will  perform  its  work  along  the  line  of 
least  resistance. 

The  path  of  the  open  bore  hole  is  nearly  always  the  line  of 
least  resistance.  Therefore  in  planning  the  hole  the  direction 
should  be  such  that  the  resistance  or  pressure  at  the  bottom  can 
be  approximately  equalized  by  solid  tamping  of  the  hole.  If  the 
bottom  pressure  be  too  great,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  hole  were 
drilled  straight  into  the  breast — the  shot  will  "blow  the  tamping" 
and  do  no  work. 

Of  course,  in  attempting  to  equalize  the  pressures  as  far  as 
possible  it  is  not  enough  to  use  just  sufficient  tamping  to  make 
the  hole  "air-tight" — the  best  results  can  never  be  assured  unless 
the  hole  is  solidly  tamped  to  the  collar. 

We  come  now  to  the  firing  of  the  shot — and  to  the  choice 
between  cap  and  fuse  and  the  electric  fuse.  When  your  hole  is 
charged  with  the  ordinary  blasting  cap  nothing  remains  to  be  done 
but  light  the  fuse  and  run.  If  the  fine  powder  train  within  the 
fuse  is  unbroken,  if  the  joint  at  the  cap  is  tight  and  the  cap  is 
dry  and  in  place — you  will  have  a  good  shot,  providing  everything 
else  is  all  right.  If  you  get  out  into  the  gangway  you  will  get 
your  pay  for  the  shot  on  pay-day.  If  you  slip  and  bump  your  head 
in  the  dark  your  heirs  will  get  it. 

All  these  possibilities  are  discounted  by  the  use  of  the  electric 


302  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

fuse  fired  at  a  definite  moment  from  a  safe  distance.  There  can 
be  no  "hang-fires" — if  the  charge  doesn't  fire  at  once  it  never  will. 
By  connecting  the  galvanometer  to  the  terminal  wires  for  a  moment 
before  attaching  them  to  the  battery  you  can  find  out  the  exact 
condition  of  the  fuse  and  the  leading  wires — there  can  be  no  guess- 
work about  it.  The  best  interests  of  miners  and  operators  com- 
bined with  public  opinion  and  legislation  will  eventually  drive  the 
blasting  cap  and  fuse  from  our  mines. 


Uniform  Reports. 

S.  A.  TAYLOR. 
PITTSBURGH,   PA. 


Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  present  demands  of  the 
National  and  State  Governments  through  the  various  bureaus  or  de- 
partments of  the  same,  in  the  way  of  reports  from  mines  and  mining 
companies,  will,  I  am  sure,  concur  in  the  necessity  of  some  more 
uniform  and  simpler  method  of  making  these  reports,  for  under  the 
present  requirements  it  takes  the  time  of  a  clerk  from  two  to  three 
weeks  each  year  to  make  up  the  various  reports  demanded  for  each 
mine  or  coal  company  in  this  State. 

By  way  of  explanation,  I  want  to  present,  as  briefly  as  possible, 
a  definite  and  particular  example  for  your  consideration,  without 
mentioning  the  name  of  any  company  which  is,  however,  one  that 
I  am  connected  with,  but  which  will  show  clearly  what  I  wish  to 
bring  to  your  attention. 

I  will  use  the  Pennsylvania  State  Report  .requirements  first, 
and  then  follow  with  the  United  States  Government  requirements. 

Exhibit  No.  1.     Reports  to   State   Mine  Department  of   Pennsyl- 
vania. 

(A)  Operator's  annual  statement  to  mine  inspector. 

(B)  Operator's  annual  statement  to  mine  inspector. 

(C)  Operator's  annual  statement  to  mine  inspector. 

(D)  Operator's   annual   statement   report   on   nationality   of 
men  direct  to  Chief  of  Department  of  Mining  at  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Exhibit  No.  2.     Report  of  Department  of  Internal  Affairs,  Bureau 
of  Statistics,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 


304  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


EXHIBIT  NO.  1-A. 


OPERATORS'  ANNUAL  STATEMENT  FOR  191 


.Supt. 


Dear  Sir : — Kindly  fill  in  the  data  as  required  by  the  Bituminous 
Mine  Law  and  return  blank  on  or  before  January  15. 

Respectfully  yours, Inspector. 

District. 


Name  of  operator 

Names  of  mines 

County    

General  superintendent 

Post  office 

Superintendent    

Post  office 

Railroad  to  mine 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  305 

EXHIBIT  No.  1-B. 


OPERATORS'  ANNUAL  STATEMENT  FOR  191 


.Supt. 


Dear  Sir : — Kindly  fill  in  the  data  as  required  by  the  Bituminous 
Mine  Law  and  return  blank  on  or  before  January  25. 

Respectfully  yours, Inspector. 

District. 


Name  of  operator 

Names  of  mines 

County    ! 

Number  of  tons  of  coal  shipped  to  market 

Number  of  tons  used  at  mines  for  steam  and  heat 

Number  of  tons  sold  to  local  trade  and  used  by  employees 

Number  of  tons  used  in  manufacture  of  coke 

Total  production  of  coal  in  tons 

Total  production  of  coke  in  tons 

Number  of  coke  ovens 

Number  of  days  worked 

Number  o  f  employees 

Explosives : 

Number  of  pounds  of  powder  used 

Number  of  pounds  of  dynamite  used 

Number  of  pounds  of  so-called  safety  explosives  used     


306  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  1-B— Continued. 

Number  of  horses  and  mules 

No.  of  Boilers: 

Cylindrical   

Horse  power 

Tubular    

Horse  power   

Total  horse  power 

Locomotives : 

Steam  inside 

Steam  outside   

Air  inside  

Air  outside  

Electric  inside  

Electric  outside  

Number  of  steam  engines  of  all  classes 

Total  horse  power 

Number  of  pumps  delivering  water  to  surface 

Capacity  in  gallons  per  minute 

Quantity  delivered  to  surface  per  minute,  gallons 

Number  of  electric  dynamos 

Number  of  air  compressors 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  307 

EXHIBIT  No.  1-C. 


OPERATORS'  ANNUAL  STATEMENT  FOR  191 


.Supt. 


Dear  Sir :— Kindly  fill  in  the  data  as  required  by  the  Bituminous 
Mine  Law  and  return  blank  on  or  before  January  15. 

Respectfully  yours, Inspector. 

District. 


Name  o  f  operator 

Names  o  f  mines 

County    

Occupations  of  persons  employed  inside: 

Mine  foremen  

Assistant  mine  foremen.... 

Fire  bosses  

Miners 

Machine  runners  

Machine  loaders 

Machine  scrapers  

Drivers  and  runners 

Doorboys  and  helpers 

Company  men  

All  other  employees 

Total  inside  .. 


308  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  1-C— Continued. 

Occupations  of  persons  employed  outside : 

Superintendents    

Foremen 

Blacksmiths  and  carpenters 

Engineers  and  firemen „ 

Coke  employees  

Bookkeepers  and  clerks 

All  other  employees 

Total  outside  

Grand  total  inside  and  outside 

Number  of  days  worked : 

January  „ 

February 

March  ..: ... ,... 

April  

May  

June 

July  .. 

August 

September 

October  

November 

December  

Total 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  309 


EXHIBIT  No.  1-D. 


Name   of   mine 

Name  of  company. 
Name  of  county 


Number  Employed 

1912  Nationalities.  Inside.  Outside.  Total 

American 

English  

Welsh   

Scotch  r.. 

Irish 

German  

Slavonian  

Italian  

Polish   „ 

Hungarian   

Austrian  

Swedish    

Russian  

Belgian   

Bohemian  : 

French 

Finnish    


3io  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  1-D— Continued 

Canadian 

Lithuanian  

Greek    

Tyrolean 

Danish 

Croatian  .7 

Japanese  

Syrian  

Montenegrian 

Horwat  

Remarks : 


UNIFORM  REPORTS 


311 


EXHIBIT  No.  2, 


HENRY  HOUCK, 

Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs. 


JOHN  L.  ROCKEV, 

Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics. 


Commontoeattfc  of 


DEPARTMENT  OF  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS 

BUREAU  OF  INDUSTRIAL  STATISTICS 


LAW  RELATING  TO  STATISTICS  OF  MINING.  MANUFACTURING  AND  LABOR 


and   take  testimony   i« 


required  «f  said  bureau.      Any  corporation,   flrra  or  Individual,  doing  nmlness 


within  this  Commoawealth.    wlio  shall  neglect  or  refnse.    for  thirty  days 'to  Mswer  questions  by  circular  or  other  personal  appllcatloX,  or  who  shall  refuse  to.  obey 
subpoena  and  gn-e   tftiniony  according  to   rhe  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  liable   to  a  penalty  of  One  Hundred  Dollars,   to  be  collected^by  order*  of  the  Coramisslouer 
of  Statistics  in.  an  action  of  debt,   In  which  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  shall   be  plaintiff.      The  bureau  shall  be  required  to  collect. -compile  and  publish  annually 
the   Productive  .Statistics  of   Agriculture,    Mining.    Manufacturing.    Commercial    and   all  Other  business  Interests  of  tbe  State."— Act  of  Assembly,  approved  May  tl,   1*71. 


1912  REPORT- 


-B1TUMINOUS  COAL. 


Reports  sent  to  this  Bureau  will  be  used  for  STATISTICS  only— uot  tor  TAXATION  purposes. 

Everything  Will  be  confidentially  treated.-   Nothing,  regarding  any  industry  wiH  be  published  except  in  aggregate  form. 


FILL  .THESE   BLANKS  aud  r«tmn  as  soon  as  possible.     If  unable  to  do  so  before   JANUARY  31,    1013.    kindly  a<tv 
ADDITIONAL    FORMS  will  be  furnished  upon  request. 

1.  NAilp  ol  FrRM  or  CORPORATION,   --i 

2.  OFFICE, ADDRESS,    6 

NAME  OF  COLLIERY  operated  ai,/,  part  of  the  year  nujinz  December  31,  1012,  and  county  u-liore  tocated',—.^.. 

c^zjt/7 


A.    TOTAL  NUMBER  of  days  worked  m  1912, __. 

5.    SUPERINTENDENTS,   FOREMEtf  and  oWlCK  FOUCK 


G.     MIXERS  and  OTHER  HELP  to  carry  on  operations  in  1012: 


Pick   miners,*    

Machine  miners.*    

Other  inside  men,  not  miners. 
Inside  boys  (under  "?  vmirs)... 
Outside  men.  all  kiods.^ 


>———..    „    .,  Total  ^salarjos^caiLd^ 


not   include  as   wages  a*irder  and 
) 


7.    MIXE  PRODUCTS.  1912,  in  net  tons: 

a.  Mined  and  used  for  operating 

b.  Mined  and  sold  to  local  trade 

c.  Mined  and  shipped  to  market 

d.  Mined  and  used  in  coke  making 

Total  net  tuns  and  value 

t^~         FIU,  ALSO  THE  BLANKS  OX  THE  OTHER  SIDE. 


312 


PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


EXHIBIT  No.  2— Continued. 


COKE  PRODUCTS.- 

Number  of  ovena  «sed, 


.Number  cf  days  operated, 

Number  of  coke  workers, . 

Aggregate  wages  paid  them,    i 

Tons  of  coke:  made, 


Value,     . 


BY  COUNTIES:  If  you  operate  in  more  than  one  county   pl?ase  indicate  number  and  product  in  eaoh  county: 

County) . Net  Tons, 

County,  _  ._„__.  Net  Tons,   _ 

Connty, 


County, 


~^ri7 

^^y- 


Net  Tons, 


SPECIAL  LABOR  DATA,  1912. 


PLEASE  FIlAj -THESE  BLANKS  FULLY 

The  data  may  prove  most  important  to  tjie  State  in  case   of   industrial    unrest   or  business   disturbance.--' 


Americans, 


i:  •  NATIONALITY  and  number  of  employes,. 
2,    REGULAR  workfcig fours  per  weok,  _ 


•  J  Negroes.     _ _ 'fatt^S-J 

'Foreigner*,    "?;. 


3.    STRIKE  and   LOCKOUTS, 


a.  What  nature,    . _^. 

b.  When    begun, 

c.  Time  lost,    __ 

d.  Men   affected, 

e.  Boys  affected, 

f.  Estimated"  money  loss,    <JL.g^. . . 

g.  Cause  of  trouble, 


b.  How  settled,   


4.    IF    IDLE    FOR   A -PERIOD   of    time    for   any    other  cause    than    the    above,    please    five  time    lost    and 


5.    INDUSTRIAL  ACCIDENTS,  3012,    .. 


«.  -COMMENTS  od  trade  »od  kb-jr  conditions ,  1912,  -.  .-,..___. 


.Sifnatu 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  313 

Again  some  of  our  reports  call  for  a  period  of  a  year  having 
for  the  period  the  calendar  year,  while  others  call  for  a  year  ending 
the  first  Monday  of  November  of  each  year,  while  still  further 
should  the  same  company  be  operating  in  West  Virginia  there 
again  is  another  period  of  taxation  as  of  the  last  of  June  of  each 
year,  and  these  dates  may  be  multiplied  and  increased  by  reference 
to  other  States  and  county  reports. 

Each  year  seems  to  bring  forth  new  and  enlarged  reports  from 
some  other  department  of  government,  National,  State  or  other 
subdivisions,  where  it  seems  our  statistical  departments  are  run- 
ning wild  and  the  operator  of  a  mine  is  compelled  to  be  harassed  in 
knowing  how  to  give  the  information  desired,  and  each  new  report 
usually  entails  a  great  deal  of  work  on  the  bookkeeping  department 
in  order  to  marshall  the  information  asked  for,  and  even  after  the 
operator  of  a  mine  knows  what  each  report  demands,  it  requires 
considerable  time  to  keep  the  information  of  costs,  etc.,  in  such  a 
way  that  they  can  be  readily  available  when  the  reports  are  to  be 
made. 

By  reference  to  these  reports  it  will  be  observed  the  duplica- 
tion of  the  same  work  in  the  different  departments  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, for  it  will  readily  appear  that  almost  the  same  information 
is  required  for  in  each  department,  only  in  a  modified  way,  which 
if  one  department  of  the  Government  were  charged  with  collecting 
these  reports  and  data  together,  it  could  be  so  arranged  in  advance 
that  the  operator  could  make  up  a  system  of  keeping  the  data  by 
each  pay  or  month,  and  by  making  all  dates  of  reports  coincident 
as  of  January  1  each  year,  the  work  of  making  out  these  reports 
would  be  minimized,  the  accuracy  of  them  be  much  improved,  and 
the  use  of  the  information  made  more  valuable  by  exact  comparison 
in  time,  prices  and  everything  which  goes  to  make  up  the  usefulness 
of  reports  of  any  kind. 

The  reports  to  the  Auditor-General  of  the  State  for  taxable 
purposes  is  made  as  of  the  first  Monday  of  November  of  each  year. 
This  report,  you  will  understand,  is  a  financial  one,  but  another 
report  is  required  by  the  State  Treasurer,  which  is  also  of  a  financial 
nature,  which  report,  however,  is  for  the  year  ending  December  31, 
so  here  again  is  another  condition  which  could  be  remedied  for  the 
benefit  of  those  operating  mines,  etc.,  and  I  feel  that  all  business 
men  who  have  to  make  such  reports  will  concur  in  the  demand  for 


3i4  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

a  more  simplified  and  uniform  report  both  as  to  time  of  making 
same,  and  the  subject-matter  thereof.  What  I  have  pointed  out 
for  Pennsylvania  is  equally  applicable  to  other  States.  The  exact 
condition  of  each  can  easily  be  ascertained  by  those  interested  in 
the  details. 

I  wish  also  to  present  one  example  of  national  reports  and 
will  use  the  reports  of  the  same  company  that  were  shown  in  the 
former  exhibits,  which  were  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  only. 

Exhibit  No.  3.  Report  Bureau  of  Commerce  and  Labor 
(Census  Bureau)  is  report  which  is  only  made  every  ten  years  and 
possibly  should  not  receive  much  attention  on  account  of  the  few 
times  a  company  is  called  on  to  make  such  a  report,  inasmuch  as 
a  great  deal  of  the  information  asked  for  is  made  out  year  by 
year.  If  the  reports  as  suggested  in  connection  with  the  discussion 
of  the  State  reports  were  made  more  comprehensive,  they  would 
be  available  for  the  Census  Report  with  much  less  work  than  is 
now  entailed  upon  the  operator  to  make  them  up,  and  if  there  were 
still  other  information  desired,  which  those  reports  did  not  contain, 
then  the  report  necessary  to  supply  what  was  lacking  would  not 
require  so  much  work  as  the  present  plan  entails. 

[See  pages  315-318.] 


UNIFORM'  REPORTS 
EXHIBIT  No.  3. 


if partiimtt  of  (Hommrm  ani  ICabor 

BUREAU  OF  THE  CENSUS 


[LL 1-266] 


CENSUS  OF  MINES  AND  QUARRIES,   1909 

GENERAL  SCHEDULE 


1 .  Description  Of  mine  Or  quarry:  If  the  information  given  on  this  schedule  embraces  more  than  one  mine  or 
quarry,  give  the  name  and  location  qf  each  on  supplemental  schedule. 

NAME  OF  MINE  OR  QUARRY  .v^Aj 

NAI 

IF  OPERATOR  IS  NOT  OWNER  OF  THE  MINE  OR  QUARHY^-QIVE  NAMK  AND  ADDRESS  OF  OWNER. 

NUMBER  OF  MINES  OR  QUARRIES  COVERED  BY  THIS  REPORT. .ji.f:.'?.. 
LOCATION  OP  MINE  OR  QUARRY.. 


riod  covered  by  the  report  and  should  be  one  of  the  following  :  2ndi- 
incorporated  company,  cooperative  association,  or  ottier. 


City  or  town 

POST-OFFICE  ADDRESS  OF  GENERAL  OFFICE 
PERIOD  COVERED  BY  THIS  REPORT:  From 

CHARACTER  OF  ORGANIZATION 

The  answer  should  relate  to  the  last  day  of 

victual,  general  partnership,  limited  par tn 


NUMBER  OF  PROPRIETORS  AND  PARTNERSHIP  MEMBERS,  IF  A  NONINCORPORATED  ORGANIZATION. 

Give  number  of  members  on  last  day  of  period  covered  by  this  report.    If  partnership,  give  I  Women  •  <* 
both  active  and  silent  partners.    If  cooperative  society,  give  number  of  members  of  society.   v 

NUMBER  OF  PROPRIETORS,  IF  ANY,  REGULARLY  PERFORMING  MANUAL  LABOR  IN  OR  ABOUT  MINB  OR  QUARRY  ../v 


NUMBER  OF  STOCKHOLDERS,  IF  AN  INCORPORATED  ORGANIZATION  .. 
Give  number  of  stockholders  on  the  last  day  of  the  period  covered  by  this  report. 


Washington,  D.  C.,' January  3,  1910. 

The  Census  .of  Mines  and  Quarries  ia  taken  in  conformity,  with  the  retirements  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved 
July  2, 1909.  Reports  are  required  on  this  pchedule-  for  all  mines'and  quarries  that  were  in  operation  for  development 
or  productive  purposes  during  any  portion  of  the  year  ending  December  81,  1909,  but  the  statistics  may  pertain  to  the 
business  year  which  most  nearly  conforms  to  the  calendar  year.  The  law  makies  it  obligatory  upon  the  owner  or 
operator  of  any  mine  or  quarry  to  furnish  Census  data. 

To  avoid  duplicate  inquiries,  the  Geological  Survey,  Which  collects  annual  statistics  of  production,  and  the  Bureau 
of  the  Census  are  cooperating.  In  addition  to  the  report  on  this  blank,  a  report  must  be  made  on  the  special  supple- 
mental schedule. 

All  answers  -will  be  held  absolutely  confidential.  No  publication  will  be  made  in  the  Census 
reports  disclosing  the  name  or  operations  pf  individual  establishments  in  any  particular,  and  the  information  will 
be  used  only  for  the  statistical  purposes  for  which  it  is  supplied.  The  act  of  Congress  'provides  that  the  Bureau'of  the 
Census  shall  not  permit  nny  otlier  than  the  sworn  employees  of  the  Hnreau  to  examine  the  individual  reports.  It  also 
provides  that  any  employee  who  shall,  without  rhe  authority  of  the  Director  of  the  Census,  publish  or  communicate 
any  information  coming  into  his  possession,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  be  fined  not  to 
exceed  $1,000,  or  be  imprisoned  not  to  exceed  two  years,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  01  the  Court. 

Amounts  and  values  are  to  be  obtained  from  book  accounts,  if  such  accounts  are  available.  Kach  question  should 
be  answered.  ]  f  any  question  is  found  not  applicable  and  no  amounts  are  reported,  write  the  word  "  None."  Do  not 
duplicate  any  item  of  expense. 


Director  o/  the  Census. 


316  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  3— Continued. 


2.  Time  in  operation  and  hours  worked:  .    ,-, 

NlIMHER  OF  DAYS  IN  OPERATION   Di'RING  THE  YEAR -X"_.-^ZT-  -55 >. 

Give  tlie  number  of  days  the  mine  or  quarry,  or  any  part  of  the  mine  or  quarry,  was  in  operation  during:  tin  year. 
Days  when  slnit  down  for  repairs,  or  for  other  causes,  ami  there  was  neither  drcflopmeiil  icoric  nor  production,  should 
not  be  included.  Do  not  include  Sundays  and  holidays,  unless,  plant  was  in  actual  operation. 

f>-  i     as- 

NUMBER  OF  HOHRS  NORMALLY  WORKED  BY  WAGE-EARNERS:  (a)  PER  SHIFT (b)  PER  WEEK  — f2...... 

Give  the  prevailing  practice  followed  during  the'year.  without  attnrnptir.g  to  indicate  rariatiops  from  this  practice".  Ail 
that  it  is  desired  to  Jtaow  is  the  practice  generally  prevailing  in  respect  to  the  hours  of  labor  of  employees.  * 


3.  Capital  invested  and  area  of  mineral  and  other  lands: 

AMOUNT  OF  CAPITAL,  BOTH  OWNED  AND  BORROWED,  INVESTED  BY  OPERATOR .. %..u2- 

The  answer  should  show  the  total  amount  of  capital,  owned  and  bin-owed,  invested  by  the  operator 
in  the  enterprise  on  the  last  day  of  tha  business  year  reported,  as  shown  by  his  boots.  .Do  not 
Include  securities  and  loans  representing  investments  in  other  enterprises. 

MlNEKAL  AND  OTHER  LANDS:   NUMBER  OF  ACHES  OWNED  OR  LEASED   BY  OPERATOR. 

Include  or.ly  lands  actually  pertainine  to  the  mining  property  covered  by  this  report;  not  undeveloped  lands  elsewhere 
owned  by  the  sains  operator. 


j          O»'»EI>    BV   OPEKAT08. 

HELD  CMIEB  LEASE 

OPERATOR. 

"    1         *—  I-™™ 

j                    _ 

MINERAL  or.  COAL  LAND  (ACRES)                    .           '         C?  v  •    G£,*J 

¥•       0' 

7"         t7s^n^>J\ 

TIMBER  LAND  NOT  INCLUDED  ABOVE  (ACRES)              '             #  /r  /Ut^* 

1)STL4 

^::  ..;:; 

OTHER  LAND  (ACRES)  j  *...-'.!-  

:  ',  i 

TOTAL  (ACRES;                      -     -.                               QxO  <•     *^O 

^..J.:. 

7          -TZxTTZ^L-J 

/  ! 

, 

4.  Salaried  employees:  Number,  December  15,  19O9,  as  per  pay  roll,    if  data  are  not  obtain- 
able for  that  day  or  month,  give  the  data  for  nearest  representative  or  normal  day.  and  state  day  and  month 

here  .ii^J^tf£f£^f^t^^r^^.^.t5.  ~.         ./...^.^...y  . 
Men.                    Women. 

^"                        '          ^ 

CLERKS,  STENOGRAPHERS,  AND  OTHER  SALARIED  EMPLOYEES..     

-^ 

TOT\L 

6 

'///*n^ 

5.  Wage-earners,  including  employees  paid  by  ton,  car,  yard,  or  other  unit:  Number, 
December    1  5,  '  1  9  O  9  ,  a£  per   pay   roil.    If  data  are  not  bbtahSaWe  for  that  day  or  month,  tfhre  «ata 
for  same  day  as  for  Inquiry  4.    Answers  should  include  all  persons  working  in  connection  rtth  mine  or  quarry,  wr-ether 
employed  directly  by  owner  or  working  for  lessee,  contractor,  or  other.    Include  overseers  and  foremen  receiving  waces 
and  performing  work  similar  to  men  over  whom  they  have  charge  ;  those  whose  duties  are  wbolly  superriiory  stouM  be 
reported  under  second  item  of  Inquiry  4. 

EMPLOYED  DIRECTLY  BY  OPERATOR: 
ENGINEERS,  FIREMEN,  MACHINISTS,  CARPENTERS,  AND  OTHER  MECHANIC 

liIlNRRS,    QCARRYMEN,    AND  STONECUTTERS  .  

A 

BOVL  cpovNo.       DEI.OW  n«oriiD. 

3        .. 

^           ??S*U^ 

Tlw-  /  2  & 

MINERS'  HELPERS  (16  YEARS  OR  OVER)  

?3.<?i^.  32&&\ 

ALL  OTHER  EMH.OYEE8   (16  YEARS  OR  OVER)   

BOYS  UNDER   16   YEARS  

j 

TOTAL  EMPLOYED  DIRECTLY  BY  OPERATOR  
EMPLOYED  OTHERWISE,  AS  BY  CONTRACTOR,  ETC...^  

t 

•'  ~  '    '—^  —  —  ! 

NUMBER  OF  WOXIN,  IP  ANY,  EMPLOYED  IN  OR  ABOUT  THE  MINE  OR  QU-M 

\ 

i                               -j 

tRY,    AND  INCLUDE! 

„„,,.  2^2^\ 

UNIFORM  REPORTS 
EXHIBIT  No.  3— Continued. 


317 


O.  Wage-earners,  including  employees  paid  by  ton,  car,  yard,  or  otlver -unit:  Number,  as 

ger  pay  rolls  or  time  records  on  fifteenth  day  of  each  month  of  the  period  covered 
y  this  jreport.    If  data  are  not  obtainable  for  that  day.  give  data  for  nearest  representative^  ay. 


EMPLOYED  DIRECTLY  DY  OPIUl.VTOB. 


MONTH. 


Jan. ... 
Feb.— 

Mar.... 
Apr 


June 

July _>T.^ 

Aug./. 


./.£./..  \  Sept. 
Oct.. 
Nov. . 
4L£. 


Dec. 


KllPLOYED  OTHERWISE,.  AS-*Y  CONTRACTOR,  ETC. 


Jan. 

Feb.  ... 

Mar 

Apr.  .. 


y— - 

June 

July— 
Aug.  ... 


,  MONTH.        NPKBEB. 


•Sept . 
Oct.. 
Nov. '. 
Dec... 


7.  Salary  and  wage  payments:  Total  amounts  paid  in  salaries  and  wages  during  the  year 

Covered  by  this  report.  Wages  should  be  ru-t  wages,  after  deducting  charges  for  supplies  furnished  by  the 
company  to  miners  or  quarrymen  and  stonecutters,  such  as  explosives,  lamp  o'l,  UacUsmithing.  etc..  as  well  as  sharRea 
for  power,  hoisting,  superintendence,  etc.  Do  not  include  amount  paid  for  contract  work,  if  not  done  by  the  regular 
em  pi.  .yees,  as  the  amount  paid  for  such  work  should  be  reported  under  lua'uiry  9.  See  note  to  laauiry  5<as  to  overseers 
end  foremen. 


SALARIED  OFFICERS  or  CORPORATIONS  _____  .....  _  .........  ...  $ 


SUPERINTENDENTS  AND  MANAGERS , . $. 

CLERKS,  STENOGRAPHERS,  AND  OTHEH  SALARIED  EMPLOYEES. 5...^. ?£,J?. 


WAGE-EARNERS,  PAID  BY  UNIT  OP  riME,  TON,  CAR,  FOOT,  OR"YARD 
Include  payments  to  contract  miners  compensated  by  these  units. 


JrVERS  AND  OTHERS  COMPENSATED   BY  SHARE  OF   PRODUCT - . -. i_   §. 

This  should  include  total  amount  paid  to  block  lessees,  leasers,  tributers,  and  a'll  others  perform- 
ing work  for  share  of  product,  after  royalties  charged  have  heen  deductad. 


TOTAC, 


AMOUNT  CHARGED  TO' MrvERS,  QUARRYMEN,   AND. STONECUTTERS  .FOR  EXPLOSIVES,   LAMP  OIL, 

"      AND    BLACKSMITHINQ    CHARGES,    pTC.,  A3  WELL  AS  CHARGES    FOR    POWER,    HOISTING,   SUPERIN- 
TENDENCE,   ETC.,    DEDUCTED  .FROM  U ROSS  TCAQES^IN  COMPUTING    NET  WAGES  ABOVE. 


RATE  OF  ROYALTY  RECEIVED  BY  OPERATOR  IP  ANY  WORK  DONB 

OF  PRODUCT --, -j - 


COMPENSATF.p  FOR  BY  SHARE 


.22. 


8-  Materials,  supolies,  arid  fi«el:  Total  cost  of  all  used  during  th.®  year  covered  by  this 

report.  This  inquiry  relates  to.all  materials  ar>d  supplies  of.every  descriptiott  and  fuel  used  during  the  year  covered 
by  the  report  for  any  purpose  in  connection  with  the  development  or  ope  ration  of  the-fltibe  or  quarry.  If  freight  paid  on 
materials  is  kept  in  a  separate  account,  enter  ia  the;  proper  line  below:  otherwise  include  the  cost  in  answers  to  the  first 
tvvo  items.  Inctnde  in  the'  first  item  the  cost  of  the  following  materials:  Lumt>er  and  timber  used:  for  repairs,  mice  sup- 
ports, track  ties,  and  all  other  purposefl:  iron  and  sPSel  for  blacksmithlng.  rails,  fross.sleeiiers,  etc.,  for  tracks  and  repairs: 
renewals  and  repairs  of  tools:  explosives  and  oil  u'seii  directly  or  sold  to  employees;  water  for  boilera  and  other  pur- 
.  poses;  machinery  supplies,  etc. 


TOTAL  COST  OF  ALL  MATERIAL^  (OTHER  THAN  FUEL)  AND  SUPPLIES  FSED  DURFNO  THE  YEAR...  $.....    ..<.&>.j2. 

COST  OF  FUEL  AND  RENT  OF  POWER  ________  ,r  -------------  .  ---------  *  ---  ---  ---------  •-•  -------  $.^.t^.JU.^^...'.. 

AMOUNT  PAID,  IF  ANY,  FOB  FREIGHT  ON  ArovE  WHICH  HAS  NOT  ALREADY  BEEN  INCLUDED  ----  $.  .....  ,^J 


TOTAL  COST  OF  MATERIALS,  SUPPLIES,  AND  FU-JL,  AND  FREIGHT  ON  SAME. 


PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 
EXHIBIT  No.  3— Continued. 


d.  Miscellaneous  expenses:  Amount  paid  during  the  year  for  the  following  items.    This 

RENT  AND   ROYALTIES 

S 

.iou. 

Include  avnounts  p.-iid  for  rei.t  of  min*>  or  ouarry.  and  plant  and  buildings  thereon,  royalty 
Ou  product,  and  for  tuunel.  water,  transportation,  and  urainage  privileges  '                                                ,             ~ 
TAXES                      _                             '                                                                                 *           &  S-  ?•     3  7 

CONTRACT  WORK  NOT  INCLUDED  IN  ANSWER  TO  INQUIRY  7 

£ 

/    / 

luolude  tunneling,  sha't  sinking,  boring  test  holes,  etc.,  during  the  year,  if  not  done  by 
employees  hired  directly  by  this  operator. 

RENT  OF  OFFICES  AND  BUILDINGS,  OTHER  THAN  AT  MINE  OR  QUABRY,  VSE  or  PATENTS, 

,,,,,.^,     ^ 

/  /,-7>t-<  

TOTAL  .             . 

S     j#  ?-/'  9? 

1  0.  Development  work  ... 

$       ^7>r^^__ 

employees  or  by  contract,  which  coct  should  be  included  in  a,  .Mvers  to  Inuuirii 

s7.:.aud'J. 

1  1.  Power:  Mechanical  power  employed  in  or  about  the  mine  or  quarry.    Give  all  mechanical 
power  employed,  either  owned  rtr  rent-d.  including  ihe  nunherand  horsepower  of  all  tnglnes,  motors,  water  wheels. 
etc..  used  for  hoisting,  ventilating,  pumping,  or  other  puri>o&es. 

CLASS. 

NUMBER. 

TOTAL 
HORSEPOWER. 

a.  POWER  OWNBD  — 
Engines'  Steam 

y?m^ 

/?7/>Le_ 

>j 

.     .'J 

1  L 

n 

'J  . 

n 

Other  power  (specify  kind)  

<  j 

^7A-?a^ 

'TJsru^ 

^ry^L^ 

b.   POWER  RENTED  FROM  OTHER  ESTABLISHMENT^  — 
Electric  motors  (include  motors  owned  by  the  establishment  but  operated 

~^Ej. 

/  ?7 

Other  power  (specify  kind)  

W^t^- 

'jtySTl.L 

c.  NAME  AMD  ADDRESS  OF-ESTABLISHMBNT  SUPPLYING  RENTED  POWER  :  ...Ji-/./-^/~tt. 

/ 

^-^L-^l/C^- 

/?        \/*  ,   ,, 
^^.-Q^^fty 

'/    ' 

d.  NAME  OF  STREAM  OR  LAEK  FROM  WHICH  WATER  POWER  is  OBTAINED  TO  GENERATE   POWER,  WHETHER  DIRECT  OB 

ELECTRIC. 

Give  answer  regardless  of  question  whether  power  is  owned  or  rented  from  others. 

12.  Remarks: 

CERTIFICATE:    THIS  is  TO  CERTIFY  that  the  information  contained  in  this  schedule 
and  in  the  supplemental  schedule  is  complete  and  correct,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and 
belief.                                                                                 ^~. 

/7           —  CSigniiture  cf  peraon^uroislung  the  iofonnation.)                                                              (Signature  of  S|x>cial  Agcut  or  Eoum«rator.^*r 

!       ,                                                       (Till.  Mrf  add**..) 

UNIFORM  REPORTS  319 


EXHIBIT  No.  4. 

Exhibit  No.  4.     Department  of  Interior,  Bureau  of  Census  Sup- 
plemental Report,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

[See  pages  320-321.] 

This  report  is  not  necessary,  if  some  scheme  of  centralizing 
reports  would  be  carried  out,  as  practically  all  of  this  information 
could  be  secured  from  other  reports  made. 


320  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  4.' 


Sryarlmrnt  of  (Ctimmmr  anJi  Cabor 

BUREAU  OF  THE  CENSUS 


[LL2-356] 
Srjiartmf  rtt  nf  ttyr  .Untrrtur 

UNITED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


BITUMINOUS  COAL,  1909 

SUPPLEMENTAL  SCHEDULE 


A  report  must  also  toe  made  on  the  General  Census 
should  cover  the  same  period. 


nle  for  Mines  .and  Quarries.     Both  reports 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Januarys,  19$. 

To  avoid  duplicate  inquiries,  the  Geological  Snrvey.'which  collects  annual  statistics  of  production  of  minerals, 
and  the  Bureau  of  the  Census  are  cooperating  with  respect  to  securing  data  for  the  year  1909.  This  schedule  has 
been  prepared  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  and  calls  for  information  desired  by  the  Survey,  but  such 
information  will  also  be  used  by  the  Bureau  of  the  Census  in  connection  with  the  census  statistics  of  1909.  The 
schedules  will  be  presented  in  most  cases  by  special  agents  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census.  All  answers  will  be  held 
absolutely  confidential.  The  Geological  Survey  will  not  publish  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  permit  of  the  identification 
of  the  operations  of  individual  establishments,  or  disclose  them  to  any  other  individual  or  to  any  bureau  or  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  other  than  the  Census  Bureau.  The  Census  Bureau  will  also  treat  any  information  thus 
secured  as  subject  to  the  provisions  of  law  regarding  confidential  treatment  contained  in  the  act  of  Congress  of 
July  2,  1909,  for  taking  the  Thirteenth  and  subsequent  decennial  censuses,  as  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  general 
census  schedule  of  mines  and  quarries. 


Director  of  the  Census. 


V.  5.  Geological  Survey. 


1.  Character  of  coal  produced: 

Bituminous,  semibituminous,  semianthracite,  splint,  block,  cannel,  subbituminous,  or  lignite  .............  — 


2.  Products:  Quantity  and  value  of  coal  mined  in  1909.     (Include  all  marketable  sizes  of  coal.    Exclude  only 
slack  coal  wasted.) 


QUANTITY. 

(Ton.,  2,000  lb».) 


Loaded  at  mines  for  shipment 

Sold  to  local  trade  or  used  by  employees . 


Used  at  mines  for  steam  and  heat 

Made  into  coke  at  mines  by  this  establishment  (report  details  on  supplemental  schedule 
for.  coke) 


[OVK] 


UNIFORM  REPORTS 
EXHIBIT  No.  4— Continued. 


321 


3.  Coal  washed  or  otherwise  cleaned 
Coal  washed  or  cleaned  (tons,  2,000  Ibe.) 

for  market  In  19O9: 

Washed  coal  obtained  therefrom  (tons,  2.0C 
Kind  of  washer  in  use                       .... 

K)  Ibs.)  ^l^T^lc^s^" 

Number  of  jigs  or  washers  in  the  plant  

'pZsr-XUL- 

4.  Character  of  openings  to  the  works: 

DEPTH   OR   LENGTH. 

(Feet.) 

Shaft 

*?lsi-xuL 

Slope      

^T^iryi^—. 

Drift  or  level  

'JQ/^cZf- 

s&  ^L~— 

Open  cutting  or  stripping     .      _     .„. 

22f~n£^ 

~jr  ' 

/^XUL- 

5.  Machinery: 

KIND. 

NUMBER. 

FOB  UNDERCUTTING: 
Pick  or  puncher  machines.  

SfosTTU^ 

•^^st^r^---~ 

]m^-— 

FOB  SHEARING: 
Pick  machines          .      .  

(frnQ*^. 

Chain  machines             

3lsT7?^ 

, 

Quantity  of  coal  mined  by  machines  in  1909  (tons, 

2,000  Ibs.)—  

//  J^  ^^/  / 

/ 

6.  Railroads  or  waterways  over  which  product  was  shipped  : 

NAME  OF  RAILROAD  OR 

WATERWAY. 

(T±STL) 

j^^^Tt^^^^^*/-             Jj/;.^^^^ 

^^xl/^^^1^^^^    ^^^a^^Ss^'^*^^^ 

~^*z^-^  .TBz^^s^-*--*^ 

| 

7.  Miscellaneous:  If  the  mine  was  idle  because  of  strikes  in  1909,  state  number  of  men  affected  and  days  they 
were  idle.                                                                         >p-           ff 
Number  of  men  on  strike                               •              w.Af^f.  6-<  —  - 

7?A^t^_^ 

Date  of  strike:  From 

'x^V^— 

8   Remarks: 

322  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


EXHIBIT  No.  5. 

Exhibit  No.  5.     Department  of  Interior,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
Production  of  Coal,  etc. 

[See  pages  323-324.] 

This  report  could  also  be  done  away  with  so  far  as  the 
operator  is  concerned,  if  only  one  authoritative  report  was  made, 
as  above  outlined. 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  323 

EXHIBIT  No.  5. 


CONFIDENTIAL 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE   INTERIOR 
UNITED   STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


PRODUCTION  OF  COAL  IN  1912 

Please  fill  out  replies  to  the  following  queries  and  return  as 
promptly  as  possible  In  the  inclosed  envelope,  which  requires  no 
postage.  All  replies  are  held  confidential,  only  State  and  county 
totals  being  published. 

Name  of  mine 


State County 


Character  of  coal  produced.. 
Name  or  number  of  bed  worked 


.  Disposition  of  product  :  Tons. 
[Include  all  marketable  size%  of  coal.  '  Ex- 

clude only  slack  coal  wasterf.]  //Q*  OU   « 

a.  Loaded  at  mines  for  shipment  ........  -  ..rTJff.  .^rjfrf-tV 

b.  Sold  to  local  trade  or  used  by  employees  .........  3.  .<?.  .3U<0- 

c.  Used  at  mines  for  steam  artH  heat 


d.  Made  into  coke  at  mines 


Total  production  In  191  2^  ..............    f/.W£*f.m... 


2.  Please  state  definitely  whether  the  "long" 
or  the  "short"  ton  is  use<1  by  you.. 


3.  Total  selling  value  of  product  at  mine  _____  $. 

4.  Average  price  perton  at  mine  ...........  -.  $ 


5.  Average  number  of  full  days  made  by  each 
employee  (exclusive  of  coke  workers 
during  the  year.  (Parts  of  days  should 
be  reduced  to  equivalent  in  full  days) 


6.  Number  or  hours  per  day 


.£..". 


7.  Average  number  of  employees  during  the 
vear,  including  all  persons  connected  di« 
rectly  with  the  mine,  but  EXCLUDING!              /  /}  V 
coke  workers _--»- rf. 


4SP" Please  reply  carefully  to  queries  on  the  reverse  side  of  this  card. 
0-4481      '  [OVER.] 


324  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  5— Continued 

8.  If  the  mine  reported  hereon  was  idle  because  of  strikes  in  1912, 
please  state'how  many  men  were  affected  and  how  many  days 
they  were  idle. 

Ans. — Number  of  men  on  strike 

Number  of  days  idle  by  reason  of  strikes 
Date  ot  strike : 

From... 


P.  MINING  METHODS:  Shorttons. 

a.  How  much  of  your  product  was  mined 

by  machines  in  1912?  .......  .  .......  Ans. 

5.  How  much  was  undercut  by  hand?...  Ans  ......  O..?:.~f..  ___ 


c.  How  much  was  shot  from  the  solid?..    Ans.  ..JK^ 

Jf  vo«  can.  uot  give  exact-  figures  please  state  approximate  percentage. 

10.  KINDS  OF  MACHINES  USED:  Number. 

Oi          ; 

Pick  or  puncher  machines.!  ............  ______    ./J^O^f^.... 

Chain=breast  machines  ............................  j[.  ........  . 

EBngwall  machines,  ............  ,_.v  .......  ,. 

Shortwall  or  continuous  cutter  machines.. 
Radialuxe  or  post  machines 


11.  If  any*  of  your  coal  is  washed  or  otherwise  cleaned  /or  market, 
please  state : 

Stert  tons* 

a.  How  much  coal  was  washed  or  cleaned 

in  1912? 

'.  How  much  washed  coal  was  obtained 
t rom  above ?... 


c.  Quantity  of  refuse 


1 2.  Railroads  or  waterways  over  which  product  was  shipped \.  • 
Name  of  road  or  waterway—  Tonnage. 

JL&!£^. 


C— 2481  fOVFP.J 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  3^5 

EXHIBIT  No.  6. 

Exhibit  No.  6.     Department  of   Interior,   Bureau  of   Mines. 

The  same  remarks  as  applied  to  Exhibits  Nos.  4  and  5  apply 
to  this. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 
BUREAU  OF  MINES. 


Name  of  firm  or  operator 

Post  Office  of  General  Office 

Post  Office  address  of  operation 

Name  of  mine 

County  in  which  mine  is  located 

Name  of   Superintendent 

Name  of  Mine  Foreman 

Thickness  of  seam  r-r 

How  many  mules  and  horses  worked  inside  of  mine? 

How  many  locomotives  used  at  mine  ?    ., 

White  kind  of  power  ? 

If  mine  machines  are  used  give  name  of  or  maker  of  machine, 


How  many  of  each  make  of  machines  are  in  use  at  your  mine?. 

What  power  is  used  to  operate  machines  ? 

How  many  generators  are  employed  ? 

Number  of  steam  boilers  in  use 

Number  of  pick  miners  employed  per  day 

Number  of  men  employed  in  shooting  and  loading  coal  per  day. 

Number  of  machine  runners,  including  helpers,  per  day 

Number  of  laborers  inside  of  mine  per  day 

Number  of  employees  outside  of  mine,  exclusive  of  coke  ovens, 

Number  engaged  in  manufacture  of  coke 

Total  ..  


326  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

EXHIBIT  No.  6— Continued. 


Price  paid  pick  miners 

Price  paid  machine  miners 

Price  paid  machine  runners  per  day 

Price  paid  machine  helpers  per  car 

Acres  of  coal  worked  out  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1913 

How  many  days  was  the  mine  operated  during  the  year  ending 
June  30?  

Number  of  kegs  of  powder  used  in  machine  mining. 

What  is  the  average  cost  per  keg  of  powder  to  the  miner? 

Number  of  pounds  of  dynamite  used  in  the  mine 


Quantity  of  coal  produced  by  pick  mining  July  1,  1912,  to  Dec.  31, 
1912   

Quantity  of  coal  produced  by  machine  mining  Jan.  1,  1913,  to  June 
30,  1913 

Total  quantity  of  coal  produced 

Quantity  of  coal  furnished  tenants  and  local  trade 

Quantity  of  coal  used  in  the  manufacture  of  coke 

Quantity  of  coal  shipped  from  mine 

Total  quantity  of  coal  produced 

Analysis  

What  was  the  average  market  price  per  long  ton  or  run-of-mine 
coal  at  the  mine  ? 


What  was  the  average  market  price  per  short  ton  of  coke  at  the 


ovens  r 


What  percentage  of  your  shipments  is  consumed  within  the  state?. 

Nationality  of  persons  employed.  Inside Outside Total 

Americans 

Negroes 

Polish  

Total  . 


UNIFORM  REPORTS  327 


EXHIBIT  No.  7. 

Exhibit  No.  7.     Department  of  Agriculture,  Forestry  Service. 
[See  pages  328-329.] 

This  report  may  be  a  very  good  one,  but  might  just  as  well 
be  secured  from  the  operator  at  the  same  time  as  he  is  making 
out  the  other  reports,  and,  in  fact,  included  and  made  a  part  of 
the  same  report. 


PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 
EXHIBIT  No.  7. 


Form  391 

(Revised  A 


NO.  • 


CONFIDENTIAL 


TURN  TO 

OF  AGRICULTURE 
VICE 


REPORT  ON 


H.  D.^Wood  $  Go., 


P.O 


1913  Forservice  St. 


This  inquiry  is  intended  only  for  firms  manufacturing 
products  wholly  or  partly  of  wood  (including  planing  mill 
products).  If  you  manufacture  such  products  in  the  State 
in  whjCT&)u  are  addressed,  please  fill  out  this  card  as 
outside  of  the  State,  however, 

please  so  adjB-jtWnthis'card  in  the  inclosed  envelope 
whicji 


i>  Products  manufactured 
Dressers,  Tables. 


(Please  show  kinds,  amounts,  etc.*  of  wood  used  on  back  of  card) 

2.  What  attempts  have  been  made  to  utilize  waste  material 

for  purposes  other  than  fuel? ^'':^^.aP.Le..arid 

red  gum  waste  is  made  into  toy  croquet  balls  and 

tncillets. 


Date  of  this  report 


Title 


(OVER) 


UNIFORM  REPORTS 


329 


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330  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

There  is  still  another  financial  report  to  the  Department  of 
Internal  Revenue  for  Taxation  on  Earnings  of  Corporations,  which 
I  will  not  attempt  to  deal  with,  as  I  think  this,  with  the  tax  to 
be  soon  assessed  upon  income,  is  unfair,  un-American,  class  legis- 
lation tending  in  its  operation  to  array  one  class  against  another, 
to  socialism  and  paternalism,  which,  to  my  way  of  thinking,  should 
have  no  place  in  a  government  such  as  ours,  and  I  hope  may  soon 
be  repealed;  consequently  I  will  not  take  the  time  to  discuss  it, 
other  than  to  say  that  it  could  be  simplified  if  the  other  reports 
were  simplified. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  think  this  matter  of  reports 
could  be  so  simplified  and  made  so  conclusive  as  to  data  required 
that  but  one  report  need  be  made,  which  could  be  made  to  the 
State  Department  and  by  them  transmitted  to  the  other  depart- 
ments which  want  to  use  them,  and  also  to  the  National  Govern- 
ment, and  by  so  doing  not  only  would  the  operator  be  saved  a  great 
expense  and  trouble,  but  the  Government,  both  State  and  National, 
be  saved  a  great  deal  of  money  in  duplication  of  work,  which  there 
is  no  necessity  for,  and  which  would  not  be  tolerated  in  a  private 
business  enterprise. 

This  could  be  accomplished  if  the  United  States  Government, 
through  a  proper  channel  or  department,  be  authorized  to  co- 
operate with  a  properly  constituted  authority  in  each  State,  to 
the  end  that  one  uniform  report  be  made  which  would  embrace 
all  the  data  or  information  desired  by  all  parties  interested,  and 
fixing  the  time  and  place  where  such  a  report  would  be  filed,  or 
if  such  a  report  were  agreed  upon  each  department  of  government 
could  be  furnished  a  copy  with  little  work  or  expense,  and  the 
value  of  having  such  a  uniform  report  for  the  purposes  of  com- 
parison would  be  much  increased. 


The  Taxation  of  Coal  Lands. 

R.    V.    NORRIS 
WILKES-BARRE,    PA. 


The  proper  method  for  the  taxation  of  mineral  land  is,  and 
always  will  be,  a  very  difficult  problem ;  unlike  other  property  the 
value  of  such  land  is  not  readily  ascertainable  from  sales  and  of- 
ferings, and  very  many  conditions  may  radically  affect  its  true 
value. 

The  assessment  of  lands  in  the  Anthracite  district  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  a  good  illustration  of  the  difficulties  inherent  in  attempt- 
ing to  arrive  at  a  proper  taxable  value  for  such  lands.  Up  to  1907 
the  assessed  valuations  in  this  region  while  irregular,  and  in  many 
case  unjust,  were  not  so  excessive  as  to  create  an  unendurable 
burden  on  the  industry  and  they  were  not  seriously  resisted.  In 
1907,  however,  a  general  revision  of  the  assessed  valuation  was 
attempted  and  the  resulting  assessments  were  so  high  that  they 
were  resisted  in  the  Courts,  with  the  result  that  the  taxes  under  this 
assessment  are  still  in  litigation,  and  appeals  have  been  filed  from 
all  the  later  assessments,  with  a  resulting  condition  of  almost  in- 
tolerable chaos. 

The  assessment  of  lands  for  taxation  in  Pennsylvania  is  made 
under  Acts  of  the  Legislatures  of  1841  and  1842,  under  which  the 
assessors  are  required  to  "assess,  rate  and  value  every  subject  of 
taxation  according  to  the  actual  value  thereof,  and  at  such  rates  and 
prices  as  the  same  would  bring  at  a  bona  fide  sale  after  due  no- 
tice." 

In  actual  assessment  four  methods  of  taxation  have  been  at- 
tempted or  sugegsted: 

First :     Valuations  based  on  actual  sales. 

Second :  Valuations  based  on  foot  acres  of  coal  remaining  in 
the  ground. 

Third:    Valuations  based  on  royalty  values. 

Fourth :      Valuations   based   on   capitalized   estimated    profits. 

All  of  these  methods  have  proved  unequal  and  unsatisfactory 


332  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

and  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  discuss  them  and  to  point  out 
their  impracticability. 

First :  Valuation  based  on  actual  sales :  This  method,  which, 
under  various  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania, 
is  the  only  strictly  legal  one,  has  resulted  in  an  almost  hopeless 
tangle.  In  the  testimony  in  the  tax  appeal  cases,  sales  have  been 
shown  from  a  few  hundred  up  to  over  ten  thousand  dollars  per 
acre  for  coal  land,  the  smaller  values  usually  for  lands  containing 
only  relatively  thin  coal,  medium  values  from  two  to  three  thousand 
dollars  per  acre  for  relatively  small  areas  with  normal  coal  contents, 
but  unopened  and  not  generally  of  sufficient  area  for  separate 
operations,  and  excessive  values  in  a  few  cases  for  going  concerns, 
or  for  lands  strategically  located,  and  thus  having  inflated  values 
to  particular  purchasers. 

Second :  Valuation  based  on  foot  acres  of  coal :  It  was 
early  apparent  that  the  mere  sale  values  per  superficial  acre  for 
scattered  tracts  could  not  properly  be  used  as  a  criterion  of  value 
for  lands  containing  widely  different  thickness  of  coal,  and  in  the 
late  80's  the  assessment  value  was  based  on  the  foot  acreage  of 
coal  in  the  various  holdings,  generally  in  the  form  of  an  average 
blanket  thickness,  arrived  at  by  the  Engineers  of  the  operating 
Companies,  who  returned  under  oath  the  average  thickness  of 
workable  coal  remaining  unmined,  calculated  as  spread  equally 
over  the  area  of  each  tract  covered  by  the  bottom  bed. 

This  method,  while  more  equitable  than  a  valuation  based  on 
superficial  acreage  irrespective  of  coal  thickness,  is  unjust  in  that 
it  takes  no  cognizance  of  the  varying  thickness  or  qualities  of  the 
different  beds  of  coal,  and  the  radically  different  costs  of  mining 
the  same,  and  further  is  distinctly  objected  to  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania,  which  says :  Penn'a  Supreme  Court  Re- 
port No.  229,  page  465,  Reading  Appeal,  *  *  *  *  "that  the 
foot  acre  rule  for  ascertaining  valuation  of  coal  lands  of  the  ap- 
pellant for  the  purpose  of  taxation  is  not  a  proper  measure  of  their 
value  *  *  *  *" 

As  an  illustration  of  the  extent  to  which  the  thickness  and 
quality  of  coal  influences  its  value,  the  following  diagram  shows 
the  increased  cost  in  cutting  and  loading  only,  due  to  decreased 
thickness  in  one  particular  colliery;  this  does  not  of  course  begin 
to  show  the  total  increased  cost  of  mining  in  thinner  beds,  with 


THE  TAXATION  OF  COAL  LANDS 


-PRESENT  VALUE  OF-  $ioo<">  FUTURE,  PAYMENT  AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  AHO  PRESENT 

VALUE  OF  TAXES  OK  SAME   AT    20  MILLS    FOR.    SAME,    PERIODS. 

Calculated  *r  6  Ftercerff. 


333 


the  necessary  greater  development,  more  extensive  haulage  and 
ventilation,  longer  transportation,  additional  pumping,  and  greater 
cost  of  preparation;  but  certainly  does  indicate  the  irrationality  of 
an  assessment  based  on  coal  contents  alone  irrespective  of  condi- 
tions. 

The  actual  assessments  per  foot  acre,  which  under  various 
subterfuges  are  still  persisted  in  despite  the  law  as  interpreted  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  have  gradually  increased  from 
about  $50.00  to  the  1913  assessment  in  Luzerne  County,  in  the 
Wyoming  field,  where  the  assessed  valuation  was  actually  fixed  at 
an  equivalent  present  rate  of  $250  per  foot  acre,  about  20  cents 
per  ton  for  all  coal  of  all  sizes  estimated  to  be  ultimately  recover- 
able from  the  lands. 

Assuming  that  the  average  date  of  mining  for  all  coal  will  be 
but  fifty  years  hence,  and  that  taxes  must  be  paid  on  this  valuation 
at  the  rate  of  but  20  mills,  the  present  value  per  ton  available  in 
the  ground  on  the  basis  of  this  monstrous  assessment  would  be 
about  $2.37,  a  figure  many  times  greater  than  any  possible  value  for 
mining  purposes. 

Third :  Valuations  based  on  royalty  values :  This  method 
which  has  been  advocated  by  many  engineers,  appears  at  first  sight 
eminently  logical  and  proper;  it  has  been  objected  to  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Supreme  Court  and  hence  cannot  be  legally  used  for  as- 


334  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

sessment  avluation.     (Penn'a  Supreme  Court  Report  No.  299,  page 
470)  which  says  referring  to  royalty  basis  of  valuation : 

"Its  market  value  is  its  fair  selling  value  for  cash,  not  payable  as  roy- 
alty strung  out  through  a  long  series  of  years,  but  payable  at  the  time  or  as 
soon  thereafter  as  the  value  could  be  determined.  Such  a  method  does  not 
make  allowance  in  undeveloped  territory  for  the  length  of  time  coal  may  lie 
in  the  ground  unmined,  undeveloped  and  unprofitable.  It  is  impossible  to 
reduce  to  a  scientific  basis  and  to  mathematical  precision  the  elements  of  value 
entering  into  the  present  selling  price  of  a  tract  of  coal  land.  The  question 
is  not  what  earning  power  coal  lands  may  develop  in  the  future,  but  what  they 
are  actually  worth  in  the  market  at  present." 

Further,  this  method  presents  inherent  difficulties  and  objec- 
tions, which  remembering  that  under  the  Pennsylvania  Law  as- 
sessment on  similar  properties  must  be  equal,  appears  to  be  in- 
superable. 

On  a  royalty  basis  of  valuation  the  time  of  mining  is  the  con- 
trolling factor  in  calculating  values.  As  an  example  assume  five 
exactly  similar  properties,  each  containing  2,000,000  tons  of  coal,  to 
be  worked  out  seriatim  at  an  average  of  100,000  tons  per  year,  and 
each  paying  thirty  cents  per  ton  royalty,  an  annual  royalty  paid 
during  the  mining  of  each  tract  of  $30,000.00;  on  the  basis  of 
Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania,  1913  assessment,  these  would  each 
be  valued  at  $400,000,  and  would  pay  approximately  $8,000.00  an- 
nual taxes  up  to  the  average  time  of  exhaustion.  Their  present 
values,  on  a  royalty  basis,  calculated  at  6  per  cent,  would  be  as 
follows : 


Tracts             Start             Complete 
Mining              Mining 
First    0                20  years 
Second    20  years          40  years 
Third               40  years          60  years 

Present    Less  Present          Net 
Value             Value              Present 
Royalties         Taxes               Value 
$344,100.00        $58,880.00       $285,220.00 
107,360.00        110,120.00          -12,760.00 
3355000        126100.00         -92,550.00 

Fourth  60  years          80  years 
Fifth       .         80  years        100  years 

10,430.00        131,080.00        -120,650.00 
3  250  00        132  550  00        -129,300.00 

Thus  even  without  any  taxes  the  coal  held  for  future  necessities 
is  shown  to  have  but  small  present  value,  and  including  the  taxes 
to  be  paid,  except  the  first  assumed  tracts,  to  be  mined  out  within 
twenty  years,  is  worse  than  valueless  and  would  be  held  by  the 
owners  at  a  loss. 

This  condition  may  be  well  illustrated  by  the  following  dia- 


THE  TAXATION  OF  COAL  LANDS  335 

gram  showing  the  present  values,  and  present  value  of  tax  charge 
on  $100.00  to  be  paid  at  a  future  date,  as  on  lands  held  for  reserve. 

Hence,  the  Supreme  Court  is  unquestionably  justified  in  reject- 
ing a  royalty  basis  for  assessment  valuations  and  taking  the  five 
example  tracts  above,  it  is  apparent  that,  depending  only  on  the 
element  of  time,  the  valuations  on  this  basis  vary  from  a  value  of 
$285,000.00  to  a  loss  of  $129,300.00,  and  it  is  greatly  to  the  finan- 
cial interest  of  the  owners  to  have  the  properties  exhausted  in  the 
shortest  possible  time,  practically  regardless  of  the  ultimate  yield, 
and  they  are  financially  fully  justified  in  taking  only  the  most  avail- 
able and  most  easily  and  quickly  mined  coal,  even  at  the  cost  of  the 
utter  destruction  of  thinner  beds  which  may  be  interstratified  with 
the  thicker  ones,  and  which  would  be  irretrievably  ruined  by  the 
removal  of  larger  beds  below  them. 

Further,  as  a  commentary  on  the  justice  and  equality  of  an  as- 
sessment based  in  royalty  values,  it  is  evident  that  a  mere  change 
of  ownership,  transferring  a  tract  of  coal  land  from  a  reserve  for 
fifty  years  or  more  in  the  future  under  one  ownership,  to  coal  im- 
mediately available  to  another  would  radically  change  its  assessed 
value.  Also  a  valuation  on  present  royalty  rates  may  result  in 
absolute  tax  confiscation  of  lands  leased  at  the  going  rates  of  many 
years  ago,  in  many  of  whch  leases  the  taxes  were  covenanted  to 
be  paid  by  the  Owners,  as  many  anthracite  leases  made  in  the  60' s 
and  70's  of  the  last  century  pay  from  8  to  25  cents  per  ton  on  the 
larger  sizes  only,  while  present  royalties  vary  from  35  to  60  cents 
per  ton  for  prepared  sizes,  with  about  half  these  prices  for  pea 
and  one-quarter  for  buckwheat  coal. 

Fourth:  Valuation  upon  capitalized  estimated  profits:  This 
method  of  valuation  has  been  proposed,  but  as  far  as  is  known,  has 
never  been  applied  to  the  assessment  of  coal  land  in  Pennsylvania ; 
it  has  all  the  objections  applying  to  royalty  valuations,  with  the 
further  very  serious  objection  that  the  profits  of  mining  enterprises 
are  under  similar  conditions,  largely  dependent  upon  the  manage- 
ment that  such  a  basis  for  assessment  would  result  in  most  un- 
justly penalizing  good  management  which  essentially  involves  good 
and  economical  mining  with  resulting  lower  losses  and  the  recovery 
of  larger  percentages  of  the  mineral  in  the  ground. 


336  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 


j.  1  1  m 


lit 


* 


Conclusions:  That  it  appears  that  none  of  the  suggested  or 
attempted  methods  of  assessment  has  resulted  or  can  result,  in  an 
equitable  valuation  fair  and  just  to  both  the  public  and  the  owners 
of  coal  land,  that  even  moderate  taxation  of  the  coal  in  the  ground 
is  opposed  to  all  principles  of  conservation,  as  its  effect  is  to  put 
a  tremendous  premium  on  rapid  mining,  almost  regardless  of  ulti- 
mate recovery,  to  encourage  the  destruction  of  poorer  and  thinner 
beds  interstratified  with  the  better  ones,  on  account  of  the  enor- 


THE  TAXATION  OF  COAL  LANDS  337 

mous  penalty  entailed  in  slower  mining,  and  to  discourage  by  pro- 
hibitive penalties  the  holding  of  lands  in  reserve  for  the  future 
necessities  of  the  people. 

For  these  reasons  it  appears  that  the  taxation  of  mineral  in  the 
ground  is  logically  and  economically  wrong,  leading  to  the  rapid 
and  uneconomical  exhaustion  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  country, 
and  putting  a  premium  on  premature  and  wasteful  exploitation,  and 
that  the  proper  method  of  taxation  for  all  minerals  would  be  a 
tax  based  on  the  value  at  the  mine  of  each  year's  product  a?  the 
local  rate  of  taxation  assessed  for  that  particular  year,  including 
an  assessment  on  surface  lands,  outside  improvements  and  machin- 
ery, the  value  of  which  are  readily  ascertainable,  but  not  includ- 
ing any  valuation  of  mine  openings  or  inside  improvements  which 
are  incidental  to  the  mining  process  and  which  after  the  exhaustion 
of  the  mineral  are  of  no  value. 

Thus,  a  colliery  producing  1,000,000  ton  of  anthracite  in  1912, 
with  a  value  at  the  mine  of  say  $2,500,000.00,  and  with  surface  and 
improvements  valued  at  $1,500,000.00  should  pay  taxes  for  the 
year  1913,  on  $4,000,000.00  valuation,  regardless  of  the  area  of  coal 
land  tributary  to  such  a  colliery,  and  if  for  any  cause  the  produc- 
tion in  some  later  year  should  fall  to  $1,000,000.00  in  value  and  the 
value  of  the  surface  and  improvements  decrease  to  $1,000,000.00 
valuation,  the  taxes  for  the  next  year  should  be  assessed  on  but 
$2,000,000.00  valuation. 

This  suggested  method  of  assessment  and  taxation  of  coal  lands 
is  of  course  clearly  illegal  under  the  present  laws  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  would  require  special  legislation  to  put  it  in 
force,  and  while  not  absolutely  just,  in  that  it  assesses  coal  from 
thin  and  impure  beds,  costly  to  mine,  at  the  same  rate  as  that  from 
the  more  cheaply  mined  thick  and  pure  beds,  would,  if  legalized, 
possess  the  inestimable  advantage  of  doing  away  with  all  uncer- 
tainty and  litigation  as  to  assessed  valuations,  result  in  the  payment 
of  taxes  in  greatest  amount  at  the  times  of  greatest  production  and 
consequently  greatest  population  and  public  need  for  money ;  and  by 
concentrating  taxation  on  the  land  most  actively  worked  and  reliev- 
ing reserve  land  from  its  present  crushing  burdens,  would  tend  to 


338  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

the  conservation  instead  of  the  dissipation  of  the  irreplaceable  coal 
resources  of  the  country,  by  encouraging  the  complete  mining  of 
lands  once  opened,  including  all  workable  beds  large  and  small, 
rather  than  the  opening  of  the  best  beds  on  all  lands  to  obtain  im- 
mediate returns  and  avoid  the  burdens  of  accumulating  taxation, 
even  at  the  cost  of  the  destruction  of  smaller  and  less  valuable  beds 
lying  above  the  larger  ones. 


Mine  Taxation. 

H.  M.  CHANCE. 
PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


The  formulation  of  an  equitable  system  of  mine  taxation  is  per- 
haps one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  with  which  leglislative  bodies 
are  attempting  to  cope. 

It  may  be  assumed  without  question  that  any  equitable  system 
of  mine  taxation  would  be  satisfactory  to  all  concerned,  provided 
that  it  is  one  reasonably  free  from  perplexing  complication  and  un- 
certainties, is  clearly  constitutional  and  is  one  that  can  easily  and 
uniformly  be  enforced.  Such  system  must  not  conflict  with  the 
Federal  Constitution,  or  with  the  Constitution  of  the  State  in  which 
it  is  adopted,  or  with  laws  applying  to  other  property. 

The  possibility  of  devising  a  law  which  may  be  adopted  by  all 
of  the  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States  seems  as  yet  to  be 
quite  remote,  but  the  adoption  of  a  practically  uniform  system  for  the 
whole  country  would  be  of  such  enormous"  value  to  mine  owners, 
operators  and  the  general  public  that  all  mining  organizations  should 
co-operate  to  this  end. 

The  title  "Mine  Taxation"  is  intended  to  include  the  levying  of 
taxes,  the  methods  of  fixing  the  levy,  the  methods  of  assessing  values 
for  taxation,  taxation  on  the  personal  property,  on  the  real  estate,  on 
mineral  in  the  ground,  on  the  output,  on  the  gross  value  of  output,  on 
profits,  on  dividends  and  on  indebtedness  of  mine  operators  and  cor- 
porations. 

The  Federal  Government  has  at  times  been  urged  to  levy  taxes 
on  production,  on  products  transported  from  one  state  to  another,  on 
products  exported  from  the  country,  on  net  earnings,  on  the  capital 
stock  of  mining  corporations,  on  the  bond  issues  of  corporations,  etc. 

In  the  several  states  similar  taxes  have  been  imposed  and  others 
proposed,  such  as  a  tax  on  production  (tonnage  tax),  or  on  products 
exported  from  the  State,  or  on  the  gross  or  net  value  of  output,  or 
on  profits  or  dividends,  or  on  bond  issues  or  other  evidences  of  debt 
or  on  capital  stock,  or  on  personal  property,  or  on  real  estate  im- 
provements (buildings,  etc.),  or  on  the  surface,  or  on  mineral  in  the 


340  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

ground,  or  on  the  value  of  mining  rights,  or  on  developed  mineral, 
or  a  license  tax  to  do  business,  or  a  tax  on  interest  paid  on  debts,  or 
on  corporation  franchises,  etc. 

In  addition  to  some  or  any  of  these,  the  mine  operator  or  cor- 
poration always  has  certain  special  taxes  levied  or  assessed  in  many 
different  ways  for  local  purposes,  the  most  common  of  which  are  a 
road  tax,  school  tax,  poor  tax,  county  tax,  town  or  city  tax,  tax  on 
animals,  and  special  taxes  levied  for  county  or  township  bond  in- 
terest, sinking  fund,  etc. 

Our  form  of  Government  requires  the  raising  of  revenue  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Federal  organization  and  the  performance  of  its 
functions,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  individual  State  governments, 
of  the  County  government  and  of  the  governments  of  townships, 
boroughs  and  cities. 

The  firm  ingrafting  into  our  laws  of  the  Constitutional  principle 
that  taxation  shall  be  equal,  has  generally  protected  the  owners  of 
mineral  property,  and  the  operators  of  mines,  from  forms  of  taxation 
that  are  confiscatory,  but  has  not  entirely  prevented  the  collection  of 
unjust  and  inequitable  tax  levies. 

We  cannot,  of  course,  hope  to  simplify  the  methods  by  which 
governmental  revenues,  federal,  state  and  local  are  raised.  No  one 
class  of  taxpayers  can  hope  to  change  or  simplify  the  systems  in  use 
for  these  purposes  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  it  is  not 
proposed  to  discuss  the  inconvenience  and  inefficiency  of  the  systems 
by  which  the  actual  levying  and  collection  of  taxes  is  effected. 

The  present  object  is  to  invite  discussion  of  those  basic  prin- 
ciples and  facts  upon  which  assessments  for  mine  taxation  are  made 
and  also  to  consider  questions  that  are  raised  by  the  levying  of 
specific  and  special  taxes  upon  mining  (and  manufacturing)  in- 
dustries. 

Generally  speaking,  all  such  specific  or  special  levies  are  made 
by  the  federal  or  state  governments.  Local  governments,  those  of 
counties,  townships,  boroughs  and  cities  have  rarely  had  the  power 
to  levy  special  or  specific  taxes,  their  power  to  tax  usually  being 
limited  to  a  determination  of  the  amount  of  the  levy  or  levies  to  be 
made  for  the  current  year,  and  the  amount  or  percentage  so  deter- 
mined is  levied  upon  the  assessed  value  of  all  property  subject  to 
taxation  within  the  boundaries  over  which  the  local  government  has 
jurisdiction. 


MINE  TAXATION  341 

It  is,  therefore,  apparent  that  so  far  as  local  taxation  is  con- 
cerned the  owners  of  mineral  land,  or  mines,  and  mine  operators,  are 
interested  only  in  the  way  in  which  such  properties  are  assessed,  and 
the  methods  used  by  assessors  in  assessing  the  value  of  such  property. 

A  consideration  of  state  and  federal  taxation,  however,  opens  up 
a  much  wider  field  for  discussion,  involving  the  principles  upon 
which  taxation  is  based. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  levying  of  special  and  specific  taxes  upon 
commercial,  manufacturing  and  mining  activities  appears  to  be 
brought  about  by  the  desire  to  make  those  most  capable  of  paying 
bear  a  larger  share  of  the  burden  of  taxation  than  that  levied  on  the 
real  and  tangible  personal  property  of  such  concerns.  Such  taxes 
are  in  effect  similar  to  an  income  tax.  The  capital  of  the  corpora- 
tion, or  large  individual  manufacturer,  includes  not  only  tangible 
property,  but  also  the  good  will  of  the  business,  the  value  of  trade 
marks,  patents,  etc.,  which  often  largely  exceed  in  value  that  of  the 
real  and  tangible  personal  property. 

Taxes  levied  on  profits,  on  output,  on  capital  stock,  on  bonded 
indebtedness,  etc.,  seem  to  be  merely  an  expression  of  the  determina- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  public  to  collect  taxes  on  these  more  or  less  in- 
tangible assets.  To  combat  the  application  to  mining  industries  of  the 
reasoning  by  which  such  taxes  are  justified,  it  seems  only  necessary 
to  insist  upon  the  fact  that  mining  is  not  manufacturing;  that  the 
miner,  even  when  handing  his  product  to  the  consumer  prepared  for 
use,  is  merely  disposing  of  a  portion  of  the  assets  upon  which  the 
business  is  based;  that  his  supply  of  raw  materials  once  exhausted 
cannot  be  renewed  and  that  his  business  is  one  of  limited  life.  Rarely 
indeed  can  a  mining  operation  be  said  to  have  a  "good  will"  of  any 
considerable  value,  or  one  upon  which  there  is  any  justification  for 
the  levying  of  a  tax. 

Taxes  levied  upon  output,  or  upon  operative  profits,  may 
similarly  be  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  the  apparent  profit  is  not 
in  reality  a  profit,  but  constitutes  a  portion  of  the  value  of  the  prin- 
cipal which  is  being  taken  out  of  the  ground  and  distributed  to  the 
owners. 

All  of  the  property  of  a  corporate  or  individual  miner  is  cer- 
tainly bearing  its  full  share  of  the  burden  of  taxation  when  it  is 
equitably  assessed  by  the  system  used  in  assessing  other  property, 
and  is  paying  taxes  at  the  same  rate. 


342  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

If  the  object  of  taxation  be  to  raise  revenue  for  governmental 
requirements,  then  the  taxation  of  mining  properties  should  be 
limited  strictly  to  that  imposed  on  other  property.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  power  to  tax  is  to  be  used  indirectly  to  conserve  the 
resources  of  a  state  or  country  for  the  use  of  the  citizens  of  the 
particular  state  or  country,  then  a  tax  on  products  exported  from 
the  state  or  country  may  be  justified.  If  the  intent  be  to  force  the 
payment  of  a  large  part  of  the  required  revenue  by  the  mineral 
resources  of  a  region,  then  taxes  on  production,  or  on  exportation, 
may  be  justified.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to  see  upon  what  basis  the 
Owner  of  mineral  property  can  equitably  be  called  upon  to  pay  a 
higher  rate  of  taxation  than  the  owner  of  non-mineral  property,  and 
such  taxes  must  always  appear  unjust  and  inequitable.  Similarly, 
any  scheme  by  which  the  power  to  tax  is  used  to  discriminate  in 
favor  of  those  who  happen  to  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  mineral 
deposits  may  be  most  unjust  to  the  majority  of  consumers  who  reside 
at  a  greater  distance  therefrom. 

The  levying  of  taxes  on  the  indebtedness  of  corporations  appears 
to  be  merely  a  device  to  tax  the  income  of  the  creditor  holding  such 
obligations  at  its  source.  It  is  an  indirect  and  therefore  an  objec- 
tionable method  of  collecting  an  income  tax. 

Taxes  imposed  on  the  franchises  of  mining  corporations,  and 
upon  bond  issues,  upon  production,  upon  "profits,"  upon  franchise, 
upon  dividends,  etc.,  may  consistently  be  opposed. 

Those  interested  in  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources 
may  stand  upon  firm  ground  in  opposing  any  form  of  taxation  that 
tends  to  discourage  or  retard  the  opening  and  working  of  such 
deposits.  Upon  this  ground  all  forms  of  taxation  upon  capital  stock, 
license  taxes  to  do  business,  may  be  classed  with  other  plans  for 
raising  revenue  from  corporations  in  order  to  lighten  the  burden  of 
taxation  upon  the  individual.  Such  taxes  are  generally  popular, 
but  undoubtedly  are  discriminatory  and  unjust. 

Taxation  for  revenue  only,  without  the  incidental  purpose  of 
restraint  or  regulation,  would  certainly  seem  to  be  the  only  form  of 
taxation  that  is  just  and  equitable  to  the  interests  affected;  if  this  be 
true,  then  all  other  forms  of  tax  levy  should  be  opposed  as  detri- 
mental to  the  community,  as  discriminatory  and  unjust  to  owner  and 
operator,  and  indirectly  as  a  burden  upon  those  industries  that  use 
the  products  of  our  mines  as  raw  materials.  To  tax  the  producer 


MINE  TAXATION  343 

of  raw  .materials  is  indirectly  to  tax  the  industries  depending  upon 
them  and  thus  to  raise  the  price  to  the  consumer  of  the  finished 
product.  Increase  in  the  price  of  such  finished  products  lessens  con- 
sumption, restricts  the  market  and  thus  reduces  the  output  of  the 
mines.  As  reduced  output  invariably  increases  the  mining  cost  per 
ton,  the  levying  of  suph  tax  reacts  commercially  to  raise  the  cost  to 
the  consumer  by  an  increase  in  price  much  greater  than  the  amount  of 
the  tax. 

Assessments  for  Taxation. 

The  limits  of  this  paper  do  not  permit  an  extended  discussion  of 
the  methods  used  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States  for  assess- 
ing mineral  property  for  taxation. 

In  the  eastern  states  it  is  generally  the  practice  of  township  and 
county  assessors,  county  commissioners,  boards  of  tax  revision  and 
other  officials  whom  the  law  designates  for  the  purpose  of  fixing 
assessments  of  value  for  taxation,  to  assess  mineral  property,  mining 
rights,  etc.,  at  a  sum  bearing  some  relation  to  the  sales  value  at  volun- 
tary sale.  This  practice  is,  however,  by  no  means  universal,  the 
methods  used  differing  widely  in  different  districts  and  generally  be- 
ing adjusted  by  the  assessors  to  meet  the  views  or  wishes  of  a 
majority  of  the  residents  of  the  district. 

When  in  any  district  the  property  owners  are  anxious  to  sell  or 
lease  the  mineral  or  mining  rights,  we  usually  find  assessments  for 
taxation  take  little  or  no  account  of  the  value  of  mineral  deposits,  but 
on  the  other  hand,  in  districts  where  most  of  the  known  mineral 
deposits  have  been  sold  or  leased  to  operators,  the  assessments  are 
made  at  figures  approximating  the  actual  sales  value,  or  at  a  definite 
fraction  of  such  value. 

In  some  of  the  western  states  (as,  for  instance,  in  Nevada)  an 
assessment  of  a  fixed  sum  is  by  law  placed  upon  each  patented 
claim,  irrespective  of  the  value  of  the  claim.  In  other  localities,  the 
improvements  made  by  operators  (owners  or  lessees)  only  are 
assessed  for  taxation,  no  assessment  being  made  of  the  value  of  the 
mineral. 

It  is  obviously  impossible  to  attempt  any  general  assessment  of 
values  for  taxation  in  most  of  our  metal  mining  districts  similar  to 
that  made  in  1910  by  Mr.  J.  R.  Finlay  for  the  State  Tax  Commis- 
sioners of  the  State  of  Michigan,  not  only  because  the  cost  of  mak- 
ing the  necessary  investigation  in  many  cases  would  be  prohibitive, 


344  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

but  because  in  few  districts  is  development  work  carried  far  enough 
in  advance  of  the  stopping  of  ore  to  demonstrate  the  presence  of  any 
considerable  quantity  of  valuable  (profitable)  ore,  and  because  valua- 
tion for  taxation  must  necessarily  be  based  upon  known  resources, 
not  upon  surmise  nor  upon  the  hopes  or  expectations  of  owners  or 
operators. 

In  the  case  of  coal  deposits  it  is  relatively  a  simple  matter  to 
determine  values  that  bear  some  relation  to  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  available  or  workable  coal,  yet  in  our  coal  mining  districts 
throughout  the  United  States  we  find  an  almost  entire  lack  of  sys- 
tem, or  of  the  adoption  or  adherence  to  any  well  defined  plan,  for 
fixing  such  values. 

An  investigation  recently  made  for  the  purpose  of  compiling 
data  covering  the  principal  coal  fields  of  the  United  States  disclosed 
a  most  remarkable  lack  of  agreement  upon  any  plan  for  assessing 
coal  values  for  taxation.  Not  only  is  there  practically  no  uniformity 
in  practice  between  any  two  states,  but  we  find  entirely  different 
methods  used  in  adjoining  counties  of  the  same  state,  and  even  in 
adjoining  townships  of  the  same  county.  The  principle  that  seems 
most  generally  recognized  by  the  local  assessors  is  one  which  re- 
quires assessments  to  be  so  made  as  to  be  "satisfactory"  to  the  tax- 
payers of  each  district.  Paraphrasing  a  celebrated  comment  concern- 
ing the  tariff,  one  is  tempted  to  conclude  that  the  assessment  ol 
mineral  lands  for  taxation  "is  a  local  issue." 

The  writer  regrets  that  time  does  not  permit  him  to  describe  in 
•detail  the  methods  used  for  assessing  the  value  of  coal  lands  in  the 
principal  coal  mining  districts  in  the  United  States,  as  disclosed  by 
this  investigation,  but  hopes,  at  an  early  date,  to  present  a  complete 
summary  of  the  information  so  obtained. 


The  Taxation  of  Mining  Property. 

D.  L.  WEBB, 
DENVER,  COLO. 


There  is  a  trite  old  saying  that  there  is  nothing  sure  but  death 
and  taxes ;  nevertheless  taxation  has  been  a  complicated,  litigated 
and  unsettled  matter  since  "time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  run- 
neth not  to  the  contrary."  Perhaps  no  subject  directly  affecting  the 
mining  industry  has  received  so  little  attention  from  mining  men  as 
that  of  taxation ;  nor  is  there  much,  if  anything,  to  be  found  on  mine 
taxation  in  the  books  devoted  to  the  subject  of  taxation,  and  less  in 
the  law  reports.  It  would  appear  that  after  having  "cussed  and 
discussed"  taxation  from  every  possible  angle,  except  mining,  the 
world  has  determined  that  the  taxation  of  mines  did  not  square 
with  any  theory,  and  the  valuation  of  mines  for  taxing  purposes 
was  so  hopelessly  complicated  that  the  only  solution  was  to  adopt 
an  arbitrary  statute,  without  right,  rhyme  or  reason,  saying  that 
mines  shall  pay  taxes  thus  and  so,  and  if  the  miner  does  not  like 
it  he  may  go  to  Court  and  show  where  the  statute  is  wrong.  The 
miner  is  in  the  minority;  the  majority  is  against  him;  the  layman 
thinks  that  all  that  glitters  is  gold — hence  the  mine  should  be  heavily 
taxed,  and  so  it  is. 

In  recent  years  some  intelligent  effort  has  been  made  to  devise 
a  fair  system  of  mine  taxation  in  at  least  one  state,  i.  e.,  Minnesota. 
They  mine  iron  in  that  state  and,  of  course,  did  not  face  as  knotty 
a  question  as  if  they  had  been  dealing  with  the  taxation  of  precious 
metal  mines.  However,  they  have  devised  a  scheme  which  seems 
worthy  of  quotation  here  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  some  ideas 
for  the  taxation  of  metalliferous  mines.  I  quote  from  Report  of 
the  Minnesota  Tax  Commission,  1912,  pages  84,  85,  86: 

"The  difference  existing  between  mines  in  geological  con- 
ditions, character  of  the  ore,  and  expense  of  mining  made  it 
impossible  to  consider  all  mineral  properties  as  belonging  to 
the  same  group  or  class.  These  different  factors  made  it  neces- 
sary to  group  mines  having  the  same  general  characteristics 


346  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

into  a  class,  and  to  apply  a  different  rate  of  valuation  to  each 
class  in  order  to  determine  their  fair  taxable  value. 

"Under  this  system  mining  properties  are  divided  into  three 
groups — operating  mines,  reserves,  and  sub-reserves.  These 
groups  are  sub-divided  into  six  classes  of  operating  mines,  six 
classes  of  reserves,  and  two  classes  of  sub-reserves,  and  a 
different  rate  of  valuation  applied  to  each  class. 

"For  the  purpose  of  determining  the  valuation  of  operating 
mines,  they  are  classed  under  six  groups,  as  follows : 

"Class  1.  Properties  where  mining  is  comparatively  inex- 
pensive and  the  ore  high  grade. 

"Class  2.  Properties  where  mining  is  comparatively  in- 
expensive and  the  ore  of  lower  grade. 

"Class  3.  Properties  where  mining  is  somewhat  more 
difficult  and  mining  cost  greater  than  in  the  case  of  Classes 
1  and  2,  and  the  ore  of  mixed  grade. 

"Class  4.  Underground  properties  where  the  expense  of 
mining  is  comparatively  low  for  that  kind  of  mining  and  the 
ore  of  high  grade. 

"Class  5.  Underground  or  milling  pit  properties  of  dis- 
tinctly second  grade,  determined  by  a  higher  cost  of  mining 
and  lower  grade  of  ore  than  in  the  case  of  Class  4. 

"Class  6.  Mines  of  inferior  character  where  expenses  of 
operation  are  high. 

"There  is  a  corresponding  reserve  class  for  each  operating 
class.  Reserves  may  be  briefly  described  as  mineral  properties 
that  have  been  drilled  and  tested,  and  upon  which  measurable 
tonnages  of  merchantable  ore  are  known  to  exist  but  have  not 
been  developed  because  of  remoteness  from  or  lack  of  trans- 
portation facilities,  market  conditions,  or  other  causes  that 
would  render  their  present  operation  unprofitable. 

"Sub-reserves  are  a  secondary  class  of  reserves  and  are 
valued  at  a  lower  rate  than  either  of  the  other  classes. 

"In  addition  to  reserves  and  sub-reserves,  there  is  a  class 
of  unexplored  lands  that  from  surrounding  deposits  and  other 
circumstances  justify  the  belief  that  they  may  contain  mer- 
chantable ore.  In  such  cases  the  assessed  value  is  usually  placed 


THE  TAXATION  OF  MINING  PROPERTY  347 

at  a  much  higher  figure  than  adjoining  lands  that  are  known 
to  be  outside  of  the  mineral  belt,  or  on  lands  that  have  been 
drilled  and  no  merchantable  ore  found  on  them. 

"While  the  same  rate  is  usually  applied  to  the  tonnages  of 
each  class,  it  is  occasionally  necessary  to  make  some  variation 
in  the  class  rate  in  order  to  meet  conditions  sometimes  peculiar 
to  a  single  mine,  the  purpose  being  to  make  the  assessment  of 
each  individual  property  as  nearly  equal  as  possible." 

Of  course,  Minnesota  is  assessing  its  mines  upon  the  ad  valorem 
system  of  taxation,  as  distinguished  from  some  other  state  where 
the  output  theory  of  taxation  is  in  vogue ;  and  while  the  ad  valorem 
system  may  be  feasible  where  iron  and  coal  deposits  are  to  be 
taxed,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  writer  that  taxation  of  the  output  is 
the  only  practical  method  for  precious  metal  mines.  However,  the 
quotation  seems  to  offer  some  suggestion  which  could  be  applied 
with  profit  where  the  law  requires  an  ad  valorem  basis  of  taxation 
of  precious  metal  mines. 

Under  the  early  common  law  of  England  all  gold  and  silver 
mines  (called  Royal  mines)  belonged  to  the  King,  by  reason  of  his 
right  of  coinage;  so  in  the  United  States  all  mines  belong  to  the 
sovereign  power — the  people. 

There  are  three  ways  for  the  sovereign  power  to  gain  revenue 
from  its  mineral  deposits : 

1.  Public  ownership  and  operation. 

2.  Lease  and  royalty. 

3.  Private  ownership,  with  a  division  of  the  proceeds  between 
the  private  owner  and  the  sovereign  power ;  usually  in  the  form  of 
taxes. 

We  are  not  interested  in  the  two  first  mentioned  methods. 
The  question  that  interests  us,  in  the  third  method,  is  how  to  make 
an  equitable  and  fair  division  of  those  proceeds  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  ''mining  is  a  lottery  in  which  the  prizes  rarely  reach  the  price 
of  the  tickets,"  and  where  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why 
the  prize  winners  should  not  contribute  liberally,  and  in  the  pro- 
portion to  their  winnings,  to  the  support  of  the  government. 

In  these  days  the  government  finds  no  difficulty  in  passing  a 
law  to  assess  incomes  and  inheritances  in  proportion  to  their  size. 
This  legislation  has  been  brought  about,  at  least  partly,  by  the 


348  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

changed  conditions  existing  in  the  United  States  to-day  as  com- 
pared to  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  Professions,  special  privileges 
and  what  not  are  taxed  to-day  upon  a  theory  peculiarly  applicable 
to  the  object  to  be  taxed.  Why  not  a  tax  upon  precious  metal 
mines  upon  a  basis  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  industry,  the  hazard 
of  the  business  and  the  size  of  the  income? 

A  few  salient  facts  cannot  be  disputed : 

The  government  derives  no  revenue,  taxes  or  otherwise,  from 
its  mineral  ground  until  sold  to  private  individuals. 

Therefore  it  behooves  the  government,  both  national  and  state, 
to  throw  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  speedy  sale  of  its  mineral  ground, 
but  rather  to  encourage  its  purchase  with  the  hope  of  adding  to 
the  nation's  wealth  both  from  its  sale  and  development. 

The  value  of  that  mineral  ground  to  the  government  is  estab- 
lished at  $5  per  acre  (lode  claims). 

Therefore,  there  seems  to  be  no  fundamental  reason  why  the 
mere  delivery  of  a  patent  from  the  government  to  the  purchaser 
should  automatically  increase  the  value  of  the  land  from  $5  to  a 
great  sum  for  taxing  purposes. 

The  ground  may  or  may  not  contain  precious  metal  of  com- 
mercial value. 

Therefore,  nothing  but  a  nominal,  or  say  $5,  value  should  be 
placed  upon  the  ground  until  the  existence  of  precious  metals  of  . 
commercial  value  is  established. 

Location,  or  proximity  to  producing  mines,  is  no  adequate 
criterion  of  the  value  of  supposed  mineral  ground. 

Therefore  no  zone  or  locality  system  of  valuation  of  property 
has  any  merit  in  a  mining  territory. 

Mineral  ground  may  be  valueless  to-day  and  invaluable  to- 
morrow ;  it  may  be  invaluable  to-day  and  valueless  to-morrow. 

Therefore  no  system  of  taxation  applicable  to  the  usual  classes 
of  property  subject  to  taxation  can  be  fairly  and  equitably  applied 
to  mines.  As  was  said  by  J.  J.  Thomas,  Secretary  of  the  State 
Board  of  Equalization  of  Utah,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Inter- 
national Tax  Commission : 

"As  the  population  in  the  West  increased  to  that  point 
where  organization  into  government  for  the  comfort  and  safety 


THE  TAXATION  OF  MINING  PROPERTY  349 

of  the  people  and  the  protection  of  property  was  necessary, 
naturally  one  of  the  first  questions  that  arose  was  that  of 
revenue,  and  in  framing  revenue  laws  the  committee  in  charge 
looked  to  the  older  States,  often  the  ones  they  had  emigrated 
from,  for  their  guidance.  As  a  result,  the  laws  upon  revenue 
in  force  in  those  States,  old-fashioned  and  otherwise,  were 
with  some  minor  changes  incorporated  into  the  laws  of  the 
territory  just  coming  into  existence.  These  revenue  laws 
answered  fairly  well,  until  with  the  development  of  rich  mines 
problems  arose  in  taxing  them  which  did  not  affect  other 
classes  of  property. 

"The  value  of  real  estate  could  be  ascertained  with  reason- 
able accuracy,  according  to  its  location,  desirability  and  earning 
power.  The  value  of  improvements  is,  generally  speaking, 
always  in  evidence,  as  also  that  of  personal  property  when  it 
can  be  found ;  but  to  determine  the  value  of  mineral-bearing 
land,  with  its  ores  buried  in  the  earth,  was  something  beyond 
human  power.  There  were  so  many  chances  for  uncertainties 
about  a  vein  or  deposit  of  ore,  in  mountainous  countries  espe- 
cially, that  the  only  way  to  determine  its  value  was  to  dig  it 
out,  sell  it  and  figure  up  what  you  had  left;  until  that  was 
done,  no  man  could  tell  what  a  mine  was  worth. 

"Veins  or  deposits  of  ore  have  been  found  which  upon  the 
surface  yielded  fabulous  returns,  but  which  when  sunk  a  few 
feet  gave  out  entirely  or  changed  to  so  low  a  grade  that  it 
would  not  pay  to  operate  them.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of 
the  richest  and  greatest  producing  mines  in  the  West  are  mines 
which  are  of  such  low  grade  that  they  practically  went  begging 
for  some  one  to  purchase  and  develop  them." 

Let  us  see  how  the  problem  has  been  approached  in  some 
countries  and  states : 

GREAT  BRITAIN  :  The  general  custom  levying  taxes  on  the  basis 
of  receipts  earned  by  a  property  is  extended  to  mines,  and  the  tax 
laid  on  the  royalties  received  from  operating  the  mines. — Frank 
L.  McVey,  of  Minnesota  Tax  Commission,  citing  Blunden,  "Taxa- 
tion and  Finance,"  chapter  V. 

MEXICO:  Under  Mexican  law  no  ownership  of  fees  by  indi- 
viduals is  permitted.  All  mining  land  is  owned  by  the  government. 
The  government  sells  the  right  to  use  the  ground,  for  which  a  pay- 


350  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

ment  is  made.  A  tax  is  laid  upon  the  output  and  in  case  it  is  not 
paid  the  claim  reverts  to  the  government. — United  States  Industrial 
Commission  Report,  Vol.  XII,  page  37. 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA  :  The  law  is  that  every  person  owning, 
managing,  leasing  or  working  a  mine  has  to  pay  2  per  cent,  on  the 
assessed  value  of  all  ore  or  mineral  bearing  substances  raised, 
gotten  or  gained  from  any  lands  in  the  provinces  which  have  been 
sold  or  removed  from  the  premises,  less  the  actual  cost  of  trans- 
portation to  mill  or  smelter  and  the  cost  of  smelting  or  milling; 
so  that  practically  2  per  cent,  is  charged  on  the  net  smelter  returns 
of  the  value  of  the  ore. 

All  unworked  crown-granted  mineral  claims  have  to  pay  a  tax 
of  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  annually.  A  full-sized  claim  of 
1,500  feet  contains  52  acres,  so  that  the  tax  per  claim  is  $13.50. 
Provision  is  made  to  permit  the  grouping  of  claims,  not  exceeding 
eight  claims,  upon  which  mining  development  to  the  extent  of 
$200  worth  of  work  per  claim  may  be  done  annually  in  lieu  of  the 
taxes. — J.  B.  McKilligan,  Tax  Collector  of  British  Columbia. 

ONTARIO:  The  basis  of  taxation  as  laid  down  in  the  law  of 
1907  is  net  profits: 

"All  mines  which  yield  an  annual  profit  above  the  ex- 
empted amount  of  $10,000,  pay  a  flat  rate  of  3  per  cent,  on 
such  excess. 

"The  tax  in  any  year  is  based  upon  the  profits  of  the 
preceding  year." 

In  addition  an  acreage  tax  of  two  cents  per  acre  is  imposed 
on  all  mining  claims  in  unorganized  portions  of  the  province,  above 
ten  acres  in  extent,  including  mining  rights  held  separately  from 
surface  rights. — Prof.  O.  D.  Skelton,  Queen's  University,  Ontario. 
KLONDIKE  :  At  the  present  time  a  tax  of  2l/2  per  cent,  is  levied 
on  all  gold  shipped  out  of  the  territory. — Prof.  O.  D.  Skelton. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA: 

"General  Assembly  shall  provide  by  law  for  uniform  and 
equal  taxation  of  all  property ;  Except  mines  and  mining  claims, 
the  products  of  which  alone  shall  be  taxed." 

Constitution,  Article  X,  Section  1. 

VIRGINIA:  The  Legislature  may  provide  for  the  special  and 
separate  assessments  of  all  coal  and  other  mineral  land. — Consti- 
tution, Article  XIII,  Section  172. 


THE  TAXATION  OF  MINING  PROPERTY  351 

WYOMING:    All   mines   and   mining  claims   from   which  gold, 
etc.,  may  be  produced  shall  be  taxed  in  addition  to  surface  im- 
provements    ...     on  the  gross  product  thereof  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  law. — Constitution,  Article  XV,  Section  3. 
NEVADA  : 

"Section  1.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  by  law  for  a 
uniform  and  equal  rate  of  assessment  and  taxation,  and  shall 
prescribe  such  regulations  as  shall  secure  a  just  valuation  for 
taxation  of  all  property,  real,  personal  and  possessory,  except 
mines  and  mining  claims,  when  not  patented,  the  proceeds 
alone  of  which  shall  be  assessed  and  taxed,  and,  when  patented, 
each  patented  mine  shall  be  assessed  at  not  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars  ($500),  except  when  one  hundred  dollars 
($100)  in  labor  has  been  actually  performed  on  such  patented 
mine  during  the  year,  in  addition  to  the  tax  upon  the  net  pro- 
ceeds ;  and  also  excepting  such  property  as  may  be  exempted 
by  law  for  municipal,  educational,  literary,  scientific  or  other 
charitable  purposes." 

Constitution,   Article   X,   Section    1. 

UTAH  :  A  constitutional  amendment  was  submitted  at  the 
election  held  November  5,  1912,  and  I  believe  carried,  which  reads 
as  follows: 

"All  mines  and  mining  claims,  both  placer  and  rock  in 
place,  containing  or  bearing  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead  or  other 
valuable  precious  metals,  after  purchase  thereof  from  the 
United  States,  shall  be  taxed  at  a  value  not  greater  than  the 
price  paid  the  United  States  therefor,  unless  the  surface  ground, 
or  some  part  thereof,  of  such  mine  or  claim  is  used  for  other 
than  mining  purposes,  and  has  a  separate  and  independent 
value  for  such  other  purpose ;  in  which  case  said  surface  ground, 
or  any  part  thereof,  so  used  for  other  than  mining  purposes, 
shall  be  taxed  at  its  value  for  such  other  purposes  as  provided 
by  law ;  and  all  the  machinery  used  in  mining,  and  all  property 
and  surface  improvements  upon  or  appurtenant  to  mines  and 
mining  claims,  which  have  a  value  separate  and  independent 
of  such  mines  or  mining  claims,  and  the  net  annual  proceeds 
of  all  such  precious  metal  mines  and  mining  claims  shall  be 
taxed  as  provided  by  law." 
MONTANA : 

"All  mines  and  mining  claims,  both  placer  and  rock   in 


352  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

place,  containing  or  bearing  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  coal  or 
other  valuable  mineral  deposits,  after  purchase  thereof  from 
the  United  States,  shall  be  taxed  at  the  price  paid  the  United 
States  therefor,  unless  the  surface  ground,  or  some  part  thereof, 
of  such  mine  or  claim,  is  used  for  other  than  mining  purposes, 
and  has  a  separate  and  independent  value  for  such  other  pur- 
poses, in  which  case  said  surface  ground,  or  any  part  thereof, 
so  used  for  other  than  mining  purposes,  shall  be  taxed  at  its 
value  for  such  other  purposes,  as  provided  by  law;  and  all 
machinery  used  in  mining,  and  all  property  and  surface  im- 
provements upon  or  appurtenant  to  mines  or  mining  claims, 
and  the  annual  net  proceeds  of  all  mines  and  mining  claims 
shall  be  taxed  as  provided  by  law." 

Constitution,  Article  XII,  Section  3. 

OHIO: 

"Laws  may  be  passed  providing  for  excise  and  franchise 
taxes  and  for  the  imposition  of  taxes  upon  the  production  of 
coal,  oil,  gas  and  other  minerals." 

Constitution,  Article  XII,  Section  10. 

LOUISIANA  : 

"Until  otherwise  provided  by  the  General  Assembly  by  a 
vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  elected  to  each  house,  all 
operating  mines  of  sulphur,  salt  or  other  minerals,  all  oil  or 
gas  wells,  all  stone  quarries,  sand,  gravel  and  shell  pits  shall 
be  taxed  upon  a  percentage  of  gross  value  of  the  product  at 
the  mouth  of  the  mine,  well,  quarry  or  pit." 

Constitution,  Article  VI,  Section  9. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  at  least  some  jurisdictions  it  has 
been  deemed  feasible  to  tax  mines  upon  a  basis  adapted  to  the 
nature  of  the  industry,  the  hazard  of  the  business  and  the  size 
of  the  output.  This  method  must, .of  course,  be  subject  to  the 
same  qualifications  as  in  other  "lines — that  the  tax  shall  not  be  so 
excessive  as  to  amount  to  confiscation  or  deter  investment,  nor  the 
mode  of  collection  vexatiously  hampering.  "The  positive  reason," 
says  Professor  Skelton,  "for  preferring  the  tax  on  the  output  in 
its  greater  certainty.  Any  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  minerals 
in  the  ground  must,  it  is  felt,  contain  a  large  element  of  guesswork 
— diligent  and  scientific  guesswork  it  may  be,  but  guesswork  still." 


THE  TAXATION  OF  MINING  PROPERTY  353 

In  speaking  of  Utah's  method  of  taxing  on  the  output,  C.  S. 
Patterson,  of  the  State  Revenue  Board,  said  to  the  National  Tax 
Association,  September  3,  1912: 

"One  of  the  most  difficult  subjects  of  taxation  is  the 
mining  industry.  It  is,  of  course,  axiomatic  that  the  mines  of 
the  state  should  pay  their  fair  proportion  of  the  cost  of  gov- 
ernment, and  at  the  same  time  should  not  be  called  upon  to  pay 
more. 

"This  state  seems  firmly  committed  to  the  principle  of 
taxing  the  net  proceeds  of  mines,  and  we  are  not  prepared  to 
say  that  any  better  system  has  been,  or  in  the  nature  of  things, 
can  be  devised." 

The  state  of  Texas  considered,  and,  I  think,  adopted  within 
the  past  year,  a  new  mineral  law,  designed  to  encourage  the  industry 
and  taxing  the  gross  output  at  5  per  cent.  In  commenting  upon 
the  proposed  legislation  the  El  Paso  Herald  says,  inter  alia: 

"In  framing  the  mining  bill,  the  best  experience  and 
practice  of  the  United  States,  the  separate  states,  Mexico  and 
Australia  have  been  followed. 

"Compensation  to  the  State  is  provided  by  royalty  upon 
the  output  sold  or  disposed  of;  this  is  the  ideal  method,  and 
supersedes  all  forms  of  fee  ownership,  patent,  or  tax." 

It  seems  that  an  output  tax  must  be  upon  the  "net"  rather 
than  the  "gross"  output,  for  it  is  only  in  assessing  upon  the  "net" 
that  the  various  elements  such  as  expense  of  mining,  cost  of  trans- 
portation, value  of  ore,  etc.,  can  be  considered  and  an  individual 
mine  given  the  benefit  of  unfavorable  circumstances  as  compared 
with  other  mines ;  in  short,  it  seems  that  assessment  upon  the  "net" 
would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  classification  purposes,  as  evi- 
denced by  quotation  from  the  laws  of  Minnesota  appearing  in  the 
forepart  of  this  paper. 

Of  course,  tax  collectors  always  complain  that  any  law, 
assessing  upon  the  basis  of  a  net  income,  net  return  or  net  profit, 
encourages  dishonesty  upon  the  part  of  the  person  assessed,  and 
renders  the  collection  of  the  full  tax  due  the  government  a  difficult 
if  not  impossible  task.  The  answer  to  this,  however,  is,  that  all 
the  late  laws  levying  taxes  on  net  income,  net  returns,  etc.,  are 
defining  exactly  what  the  term  "net"  shall  mean,  and  prescribing 
what  may  and  what  may  not  be  deducted  from  the  "gross." 


354  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  the  tax  upon  net  re- 
turns should  not  be  graduated  so  that  the  mine  with  a  large  annual 
net  return  would  pay  its  taxes  upon  a  higher  percentage  basis  than 
the  mine  with  a  small  annual  net  return.  It  rather  appeals  to 
human  nature  that  those  most  able  to  bear  the  expenses  of  govern- 
ment should  be  required  to  do  so,  and  those  less  able  should  con- 
tribute in  proportion  to  their  ability,  and  this  feeling  has  crystallized 
into  positive  statutory  enactment  within  the  past  few  years  in 
inheritance  tax  and  income  tax  laws. 

In  the  case  of  non-producing  mineral  ground  the  valuation  for 
taxation  should  in  no  case  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  local 
assessor,  for,  human  like,  the  assessor  will  invariably  raise  the 
value  to  the  point  where  the  rate  of  assessment  will  produce  suffi- 
cient money  to  support  the  governmental  institutions,  however 
extravagant  their  respective  officers  may  be.  The  law  must  put  a 
limitation  upon  the  value  of  non-producing  ground  beyond  which 
point  no  assessing  officer  or  body  may  go.  And  if  that  limitation 
should  not  be  $5  per  acre",  i.  e.,  the  purchase  and  sale  price,  then 
what  is  the  proper  criterion? 

It  is  argued  by  some  that  a  low  valuation  placed  upon  non- 
producing  mineral  ground  has  a  tendency  to  encourage  the  monopoly 
of  large  territory  without  development  thereof.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  argued,  from  an  entirely  different  standpoint,  that  a  high 
valuation  placed  upon  mining  property  for  taxation  purposes  is 
extremely  discouraging  to  the  industry.  Let  the  merits  of  the 
respective  arguments  be  what  they  may,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
writer  that  the  amount  of  taxes  which  would  be  paid  upon  non- 
producing  mineral  ground,  at  either  high  or  low  valuation,  would 
neither  encourage  nor  discourage  the  development  of  the  ground. 
For  instance,  in  Colorado  in  the  year  1910,  the  average  valuation 
upon  non-producing  claims  was  $49.73  per  acre,  or  $487.30  for  a 
claim  of  ten  acres.  The  average  tax  rate  for  the  same  year  was 
approximately  4  per  cent.,  or  an  average  tax  of  $20  per  claim.  It 
is  not  thought  that  this  tax  of  $20  (although  in  the  opinion  of  the 
writer  entirely  too  high)  would  influence  the  owner  of  an  unde- 
veloped claim,  one  way  or  the  other,  in  the  development  thereof ; 
for  in  the  event  that  he  determines  to  develop  his  claim,  he  faces, 
at  once,  an  expenditure  so  many  times  $20  that  that  sum  of  money 
would  have  no  bearing  upon  the  question  of  his  development. 

Until  and  unless  some  better  method  is  devised  for  the  taxation 


THE  TAXATION  OF  MINING  PROPERTY  356 

of  mining  claims,  it  is  my  opinion  that  non-producing  mineral 
ground  should  be  assessed  at  a  valuation  not  to  exceed  $5  per  acre ; 
and  that  producing  mines  should  be  assessed  upon  their  net  output 
only,  and  then  upon  a  graduated  scale  in  accordance  with  the 
extent  of  the  net  output,  and  in  no  case  to  exceed  probably  5  per 
cent. 

Mining  Science  of  March  9,  1911,  says: 

"Those  hazards  which  distinguish  the  business  of  searching 
for  mineral  wealth  and  of  locating  property  in  the  hope  of 
discovering  payable  ore  bodies  afford  one  explanation  of  the 
difficulties  which  lie  in  the  path  of  law  makers  and  of  admin- 
istrative officers  to  justly  value  mining  property  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taxation.  To  value  that  whose  value  is  often  so  elusive 
and  to  maintain  a  proper  uniformity  in  the  distribution  of  the 
burdens  of  taxpaying  is  one  of  the  peculiar  problems  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  which  mines  are  among  the  main  scources 
of  wealth." 

That  statement  is  quite  true  and  should  be  continually  borne 
in  mind,  when  we  criticize  'the  taxing  officers  or  complain  of  the 
apparent  or  real  injustice  in  the  valuation  of  mining  property  for 
taxation ;  nevertheless  a  fair,  reasonable  basis  for  the  taxation  of 
mining  property  must  be  possible,  it  has  not  yet  been  worked  out, 
and  it  behooves  us  to  present  our  case  to  the  officers  of  the  Com- 
monwealth; to  urge  them  to  hear,  consider  and  act  upon  our 
complaint,  and  in  the  end  solve  a  problem  which  will  do  much 
to  ease  the  troubles  of  the  mining  man. 

I  am  glad  to  have  had  this  opportunity  to  jot  down  a  few 
lines  on  this  subject;  it  is  one  upon  which  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  secure  data;  but  if  what  I  have  said  will  serve  to  start  others 
to  thinking  along  the  same  line,  followed  by  discussions  and  de- 
bates, then  a  beginning  will  have  been  made  and  time  will  tell 
the  result. 

Cordially, 

D.  L.  WEBB. 


Mining  Investments. 

W.  R.    ALLEN, 
BUTTE,    MONTANA. 


At  the  fifteenth  annual  session  of  the  American  Mining  Con- 
gress, held  at  Spokane,  Washington,  November  25th  to  the  29th, 
1912,  a  resolution  was  adopted  authorizing  the  president  of  the 
Congress  to  appoint  a  committee  to  inquire  into,  and  gather  data 
upon,  the  subject  of  safeguarding  the  prospector,  mine  owner, 
legitimate  promoter  and  investor  from  the  operations  of  unfair 
and  illegitimate  promotions,  and  to  ascertain  the  laws  upon  the 
statute  books  in  the  various  states  in  the  Union ;  to  submit  a  report 
to  the  next  session  of  the  Congress  for  appropriate  action,  recom- 
mending a  law  covering  the  subject  or  amendments  to  existing 
laws ;  to  assist  the  secretary  and  work  in  conjunction  with  him  in 
furthering  the  interests  of  the  mining  industry  along  legislative 
lines. 

The  president  appointed  the  following-named  gentlemen  as 
members  of  the  committee:  W.  R.  Allen,  Butte,  Montana;  William 
Scallon,  Helena,  Montana ;  R.  L.  Collins,  Spokane,  Washington ; 
Lyman  A.  Sisley,  Chicago,  and  Edwin  A.  Holter,  New  York  City. 

Owing  to  the  great  distance  between  the  various  members  it 
has  been  impossible  to  hold  a  meeting  of  the  committee  prior  to 
the  meeting  in  Philadelphia.  The  members  of  the  committee, 
however,  have  exchanged  ideas  and  submitted  data  by  correspond- 
ence. 

We  find  a  unanimity  of  opinion  among  mine  owners,  pros- 
pectors and  investors  for  such  laws  and  regulations  as  will  tend  to 
drive  from  the  field  that  class  of  promotions  that  are  not  founded 
upon  merit,  fair  dealing,  or  justice. 

We  fully  realize  that  no  other  occupation  offers  more  oppor- 
tunities for  success  and  large  profits.  Ever  since  the  creation  of 
man  has  the  search  for  metal  been  carried  on ;  ancient  history  from 
the  time  of  Tubalcain,  the  first  great  worker  of  metals,  records 


MINING  INVESTMENTS  357 

human  activities  in  the  search  for  and  the  manufacture  of  minerals 
and  metals  that  have  been  so  useful  and  necessary  to  mankind. 

There  are  two  great  fundamental  industries  on  which  civiliza- 
tion is  based  and  our  very  existence  depends — mining  and  agri- 
culture. These  two  industries  must  necessarily  be  carried  on  hand 
in  hand,  each  working  with  and  through  the  other.  One  cannot 
exist  or  be  of  value  without  the  other.  These  two  make  up  all 
the  essentials,  comforts,  conveniences  and  necessities  of  life. 

The  science  of  agriculture  can,  and  indeed  has,  become  a 
purely  mathematical  problem;  its  hazards  are  so  limited  as  to 
admit  of  the  smallest  possible  profits,  with  a  reasonable  degree  of 
certainty;  all  that  pertains  to  agriculture  can  be  seen  and  com- 
prehended. It  is  far  different  with  the  mining  industry.  In  dealing 
with  this  branch  of  our  existence  no  well-defined  law  of  nature 
can  be  followed;  no  satisfactory  rule  of  man  can  be  depended  upon. 
It  is  true  that  the  study  of  mineralogy,  geology  and  chemistry  has, 
and  will  enable  the  human  eye,  to  a  degree,  to  see  further  than 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  at  best,  all  deductions  made  are  more 
or  less  speculative.  To  formulate  any  set  rule  for  the  discovery 
of  ore,  or  estimating  the  value  of  minerals  not  seen  or  uncovered, 
is  impossible ;  therefore,  as  the  uncertainties  increase  so  should 
the  profits. 

The  mining  industry  is  not  only  important  to  the  welfare  of 
mankind,  but  absolutely  necessary.  Before  the  farmer  can  plough 
his  field,  or  reap  his  grain ;  before  the  manufacturer  can  weave 
the  fabric  or  bolt  the  grist ;  or  the  home-builder  construct  his  place 
of  abode;  or  the  housewife  prepare  the  meals  or  stitch  the  clothing; 
before  cities  can  grow  or  be  connected  by  the  great  systems  of 
highways,  steam  or  electric ;  before  we  set  sail  upon  the  seas  for 
foreign  lands,  the  product  of  the  mines  and  miners  must  be  used; 
iron,  steel,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  tin,  and  thousands  of  other  metals 
used  in  manufacture  and  the  arts,  as  well  as  the  precious  metals, 
such  as  our  money  standards  or  medium  of  exchange.  To  this 
array  must  be  added  the  coal  and  the  oil  that  are  used  for  fuel, 
heat  and  light;  the  electric  currents  of  the  air  that  are  harnessed 
through  the  agency  of  metals. 

The  mining  industry  requires  the  genius  of  man,  the  brains 
of  the  world;  perseverance,  unlimited  hope,  and  a  great  amount 
of  capital.  As  a  rule,  mineral  is  not  found  in  places  of  easy  access ; 
it  is  found  where  volcanic  action  has  so  disturbed  the  earth's 


358  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

surface  as  to  make  it,  in  many  instances,  almost  impregnable  by 
man. 

The  millionaire,  or  man  of  moderate  means,  is  content  to 
leave  the  unexplored  fields  to  that  intrepid,  dauntless,  fearless  and 
courageous  body  of  men  known  as  prospectors,  buoyed  by  hope, 
with  unbounded  enthusiasm,  and  encouraged  in  the  belief  that  they 
will  discover  mineral.  This  army  of  Argonauts  is  found  wherever 
traces  of  mineral  exist,  toiling  without  certainty  of  reward,  suffer- 
ing hardships  and  enduring  privations ;  but  few  realizing  their 
dreams.  Throughout  all  mining  regions  rest  the  dust  in  unmarked 
graves  of  the  prospectors  who  have  passed  from  life  without  re- 
ward. As  we  enjoy  the  implements  of  modern  civilization,  little 
do  we  realize  the  blasted  hopes,  the  disappointed  lives,  the  unpaid 
labor  of  the  prospectors  that  have  been  imprinted  upon  the  tablets 
of  progress  and  time  before  the  results  of  their  labor  could  be  put 
to  commercial  use.  Not  only  every  miner  and  mine  owner,  but 
civilization  itself  should  encourage  and  assist  the  prospectors ;  to 
that  end  laws  should  be  framed  for  their  protection,  as  well  as  the 
protection  of  the  investor.  Our  endeavor  should  be  to  put  the 
investor  in  touch  with  the  prospector,  and  the  prospector  in  reach 
of  capital.  One  is  as  necessary  in  the  development  of  the  industry 
as  the  other;  one  is  the  pioneer,  the  other  the  builder.  Thousands 
of  prospectors,  who  will  never  be  able  to  accomplish  anything  in 
their  lifetime,  could  develop  properties  of  great  worth  and  value 
if  they  only  had  the  necassary  funds. 

Millions  of  acres,  particularly  in  the  western  states  and  Alaska, 
contain  hidden  treasure  that  cannot  be  reached  by  the  prospector's 
pick,  yet  by  surface  indications  he  knows  full  well  of  the  mineral 
existence.  While  great  is  the  known  mineral  wealth  of  this  country, 
but  a  small  portion  has  as  yet  been  discovered.  Large  cities  will 
yet  be  built;  billions  of  wealth  will  be  poured  into  the  world's 
treasury  from  undiscovered  and  undeveloped  mines. 

We  should  not,  by  laws,  harass,  but  rather  assist  and  en- 
courage in  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources ;  lend  en- 
couragement to  the  prospector,  protect  and  assist  him  in  the 
development  of  the  mining  industry.  There  are  three  necessary 
factors :  the  prospector,  the  promoter  and  the  investor.  The  legiti- 
mate, honest  promoter  who,  after  careful  investigation,  finds  a 
prospect  worthy  of  development  and  enlists  the  necessary  capital, 
is  entitled  to  his  reward :  he  is  entitled  to  some  of  the  credit  that 


MINING  INVESTMENTS  359 

is  due  those  whose  endeavors  go  to  make  this  industry  great.  The 
investor  is  entitled  to  more  than  ordinary  returns  upon  his  invest- 
ment ;  he  has  no  absolute  assurance ;  he  may  lose  all  or  he  may 
receive  enormous  returns;  he  is  entitled  to  every  safeguard  that 
can  be  reasonably  thrown  around  him. 

There  are  many  who  invest  in  mining  propositions  who  do 
not  know  the  difference  between  a  mining  prospect  and  a  developed 
mine.  A  developed  mine  is  a  commercial  proposition,  operating 
upon  a  commercial  basis  and  returning  certain  annual  premiums. 
In  mines  of  this  class  the  element  of  speculation  is  past,  also  the 
element  of  chance  for  large  returns.  The  investor,  in  the  developed 
or  developing  mine  is  in  the  class  that  may  hope  for  large  returns, 
but  there  must  always  be  associated  an  element  of  chance.  If,  after 
proper  investment  of  the  funds,  careful  and  competent  management, 
the  project  fails  to  develop,  there  should  be  no  complaint  on  the 
part  of  the  investors,  for  they  would  have  willingly  and  gladly 
accepted  any  returns,  no  matter  how  large. 

The  great  problem  that  confronts  us  to-day  is  how  to  bring 
our  mineral  resources,  and  their  necessary  development,  to  the 
attention  of  the  investors,  and  present  them  in  such  manner  that 
they  may  thoroughly  understand  all  conditions  under  which  they 
make  their  investment,  and  then  abide  by  the  results  with  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  money  was  actually  expended  in 
the  development  or  benefit  of  the  property. 

While  I  have  not  the  figures  at  hand,  and  I  doubt  if  they 
are  obtainable,  if  the  money  lost  from  mercantile  business  failures, 
as  reported  by  the  commercial  agencies,  could  be  compared  with 
the  money  lost  through  legitimate  mine  development,  and  this  com- 
parison be  compared  with  the  profits  on  each  line  pro  rated  with 
the  investment,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  balance  would  be  on 
the  mining  side.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  percentage  of  failures 
would  be  smaller  in  the  mineral  column.  The  great  question  before 
us  is  how  to  prevent  unscrupulous  and  conscienceless  promoters 
from  entering  the  field  and  fleecing  the  public,  thereby  doing  the 
mining  industry  and  legitimate  mine  promoter  and  prospector  irre- 
parable injury.  Any  field  of  endeavor  that  promises  large  returns 
will  always  attract  the  criminal  and  dangerous  class  of  promoters 
that  prey  upon  the  unsophisticated  and  gullible  public. 

I  hail  from  a  mining  state,  have  been  associated  with  mining 
men,  and  have  been  connected  with  the  mining  industry  all  my 
life.  In  that  state  we  have  seen  the  discovery  and  development  of 


3<5o  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

the  greatest  mines  the  world  has  ever  known.  With  the  large 
number  of  men,  both  practical  and  theoretical  in  that  state,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  select  a  board,  or  commission,  or  delegate 
the  powers  to  one  man  that  could  intelligently  and  fairly  pass  upon 
the  merits  of  any  proposition  in  its  promotive  stage  to  the  extent 
of  guaranteeing  to  the  investors  that  they  would  receive  a  stipulated 
return  upon  their  investment;  all  that  could  possibly  be  hoped  for 
would  be  opinion  that  the  plan  of  promotion  seemed  fair  and 
reasonable.  Even  mining  engineers,  the  greatest  known,  have 
reported  unfavorably  upon  many  of  the  greatest  producers  we 
have.  For  the  last  thirty  years  predictions  have  been  made  that 
the  Butte  Mining  Camp  would  play  out;  that  the  ore  bodies  would 
not  extend  downward ;  that  the  values  would  not  remain ;  but 
to-day  Butte,  contrary  to  the  many  predictions  of  many  eminent 
geologists  and  mining  engineers,  has  larger  veins  and  richer  values 
than  ever  known  before  in  the  history  of  the  district. 

When  men  schooled  and  trained  in  the  science  of  mining  and 
geology  make  such  mistakes  and  miss  the  mark  so  far  in  their 
estimates  and  calculations,  can  we  safely  delegate  the  power  and 
authority  to  a  board  or  commission  of  three,  five,  seven  or  a  dozen 
men?  Worse  still,  to  the  judgment  of  one  man,  who,  perhaps  has 
had  no  experience  or  training  whatever  in  the  mining  industry? 
Yet  to-day,  in  many  states  in  the  Union,  has  almost  arbitrary 
power  been  vested  in  such  hands  that  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to 
enter  some  states  with  any  kind  of  a  mining  proposition  wherein 
the  sale  of  stock  is  involved.  It  is  my  desire,  and  it  is  the  desire 
of  every  delegate  in  this  Congress,  every  legitimate  mining  man  in 
this  nation,  to  eliminate  the  wildcatter  and  the  promoter  of  worth- 
less mining  propositions,  but  the  industry  is  too  great,  the  products 
too  necessary  to  retard  the  growth  and  development  by  enacting  such 
laws  as  will  make  it  prohibitive  for  the  small  mine  owner  and 
prospector,  through  his  honest,  legitimate  promoter,  to  reach  the 
investing  public. 

After  a  careful  study  of  the  laws  now  upon  the  statute  books 
in  a  number  of  states;  after  watching  their  operations,  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  the  law  that  will  best  serve  the  interests  of  the 
prospector,  mine  owner  and  legitimate  promoter,  and  at  the  same 
time  fully  protect  the  investor,  will  place  no  arbitrary  powers  in 
boards  or  state  officials.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  a  law  should 
be  enacted  by  every  state  in  the  Union,  governing  the  sale  of 
mining  promotion  stocks  that  will  give  to  the  mining  investor  accu- 


MINING  INVESTMENTS  361 

rate  information  of  the  plan  of  organization,  amount  of  capital 
stock  or  bonds,  amount  to  be  paid  for  the  property,  either  in  stock 
or  cash,  condition  of  titles,  whether  held  by  lease  and  bond,  owned 
outright,  patented  or  unpatented,  amount  of  development,  names 
and  references  of  officers  and  directors,  salaries  paid  to  officers 
and  managers,  and  all  other  information  concerning  the  company, 
leaving  it  to  the  investor  to  decide  for  himself,  as  he  must  do 
in  any  other  investment  or  business  venture,  as  to  the  honesty  or 
capability  *  of  the  management,  the  possibilities  and  probabilities 
of  success ;  this  procedure  will  force  mine  owners  and  promoters 
to  produce  engineers'  reports  and  any  other  information  bearing 
upon  their  property. 

Most  all  states  have  laws  dealing  with  misrepresentation  and 
fraud,  and  any  one  who  files  with  the  state  department,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  a  license  to  sell  stock,  information  concerning 
the  property  that  is  erroneous,  may  be  prosecuted  under  the  laws 
covering  fraud  and  deception.  The  laws  governing  the  sale  of 
stock  or  bonds  may  be  divided  into  two  heads :  publicity  and  super- 
vision. Publicity  is  essential  and  it  may  be  profitably  used  to  the 
benefit  of  all ;  it  can  be  made  a  fountain  head  in  each  state  whereby 
the  investor  can  gain  all  the  information  that  he  may  desire,  con- 
cerning any  security  offered,  but  I  seriously  doubt  if  it  would  be 
advisable  to  place  the  power  with  the  state  officer  or  board  to  pass 
upon  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  the  securities  offered  are  a 
good  investment.  Again,  a  man,  board,  or  commission  in  Illinois, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  or  New  Jersey,  could  not  intelligently  say 
that  a  mining  proposition  located  in  Montana,  Colorado  or  Cali- 
fornia is  not  meritorious.  I  believe  that  state  departments  should 
require  and  have  on  file  at  all  times,  information  that  tends  to 
enlighten  the  investor  and  give  the  facts,  such  information  to  be 
presented  in  affidavits  by  the  officers  of  the  corporation  desiring 
to  sell  stock. 

Thirty-six  states  in  the  Union  have  under  consideration  laws 
governing  the  sale  of  stocks,  bonds  and  securities.  Kansas  adopted 
the  first  "blue  sky"  law,  known  as  the  Dolley  law;  the  law  is 
administered  under  the  state  bank  examiner  or  commission.  Other 
states  left  the  question  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  secretaries,  com- 
missions and  others.  In  Montana  the  administration  of  the  law  is 
left  to  the  state  auditor  or  commissioner  of  insurance.  Arizona 
has  a  law  adopted  in  1912  following  very  closely  the  Kansas  law. 
Arkansas  has  provided  a  "blue  sky"  law,  which  went  into  effect  in 


362  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

March,  1913;  the  Colorado  Legislature  passed  a  "blue  sky"  law 
the  day  before  adjournment,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  the  Governor. 
Idaho,  Montana,  North  Dakota,  Vermont  and  West  Virginia  have 
enacted  laws  similar  to  the  Kansas  law.  Iowa  has  a  law  that  is 
more  comprehensive  than  almost  any  of  the  laws  that  have  been 
adopted.  Maine  has  passed  a  law  to  go  into  effect  January  1,  1914. 
Michigan,  Missouri  and  Ohio  has  adopted  laws  that  are  now  in 
effect.  Oregon  has  passed  a  law  which  becomes  effective  next 
March.  South  Dakota  has  adopted  a  law  which  contains  restric- 
tion of  the  Kansas  law  of  1911.  Laws  have  been  under  considera- 
tion by  the  Legislatures  of  North  Dakota,  Illinois,  Massachusetts, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island  and  Wisconsin ;  the  Legis- 
latures of  Delaware,  New  Hampshire,  New  Mexico,  North  Caro- 
lina, Utah  and  Wyoming  adjourned  without  enacting  laws  upon 
the  subject;  Indiana  passed  a  law,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  appointed  a  commission  to  study  the  subject.  The 
Minnesota  Legislature  adjourned  without  getting  to  any  agreement 
upon  the  "blue  sky"  laws;  the  New  Jersey  Legislature  adjourned 
without  enacting  any  legislation,  notwithstanding  the  recommen- 
dations of  President  Wilson  when  he  was  Governor  of  the  state. 


Mining  Costs. 

J.  B.  L.  HORNBERGER, 
COMPTROLLER  PITTSBURGH  COAL  COMPANY, 


It  is  with  some  misgivings  that  I  undertake,  at  the  request  of 
the  officers  of  this  Convention,  to  lead  in  the  presentation  of  the 
subject  "Mining  Costs";  not  that  the  subject  is  one  unworthy  of 
your  time  and  attention,  nor  that  my  study  of  it  has  been  meagre 
or  superficial,  although  doubtless  a  more  experienced  and  capable 
leader  might  easily  have  been  chosen  for  the  service,  but  because 
the  matter  of  the  proper  construction  of  mining  cost  accounts  and 
the  use  of  the  same  by  those  vitally  interested  does  not  usually  re- 
ceive the  attention  and  consideration  which  it  deserves.  Perhaps 
this  fact  influenced  your  officers  in  introducing  a  paper  on  the  sub- 
ject and  inviting  your  attention  to  its  consideration  and  discussion. 
However  this  may  be,  I  believe  that  the  subject  is  one  of  great  im- 
portance and  I  therefore  have  consented  to  discuss  it,  more  in  the 
hope  of  emphasizing  some  things  which  we  all  know  more  or  less, 
but  sometimes  forget,  than  of  presenting  any  new  or  startling  views 
upon  it. 

First.  Who  are  interested  in  mining  costs?  The  Foremen, 
Superintendents,  General  Managers,  executive  officers,  Boards  of 
Directors  and  stockholders — the  viewpoints  of  these  respective 
classes  are  different,  but  all  are,  or  should  be,  greatly  concerned  to 
secure  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  Care- 
lessness and  indifference  as  to  statements  made  are,  in  the  last  analy- 
sis, of  the  same  texture  as  wilfullness-and  misrepresentation  and 
frequently  lead  to  the  same  disastrous  results. 

Second.  How  may  these  statements  be  made  to  most 
accurately  and  clearly  set  forth  the  information  concerning  actual 
conditions,  which  is  so  necessary  to  those  whose  capital  and  repu- 
tations are  at  stake? 

The  limit  of  time  you  will  fix  for  the  consideration  of  this  sub- 
ject, among  the  many  other  important  matters  which  are  to  engage 
your  attention,  makes  it  necessary  for  me  to  avoid  details  as  much 
as  possible — to  outline  rather  than  elaborate. 


364  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Interest 

Interest  on  capital  invested  in  lands,  mining  rights,  plants  and 
equipments,  and  discount  on  bonds  issued  against  such  investments, 
should  hot  be  charged  to  mining  cost.  Interest  on  bonds  sold  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  specific  plants  is  commonly  charged  to 
such  construction  cost  up  to  the  time  when  the  plants  are  ready  for 
operation,  but  this  practice  easily  runs  into  an  abuse  and  a  mis- 
representation to  bondholders,  stockholders  and  the  public.  An 
operating  company  will  not  err  but  rather  commend  itself  to  all  con- 
cerned by  holding  to  an  absolute  rule  not  to  capitalize  interest  under 
any  circumstances.  Many  companies  in  the  past,  which  sold  bonds 
for  less  than  face  value,  charged  such  discount  to  Property  or 
Construction  Account,  but  this  practice  is  now  less  common  and 
will  doubtless  gradually  disappear  in  companies  which  wish  to  be 
credited  with  conservative  management  and  frankness  in  reports  to 
stockholders  and  the  public. 

Taxes 

Taxes  in  an  operating  company  should  be  charged  to  Opera- 
tions, never  to  Property.  The  amount  of  tax  chargeable  to  the 
operation  of  a  given  mine  ought  to  be,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  the  tax 
upon  the  land  which  will  ultimately  be  operated  through  that  mine, 
and  the  tax  for  a  given  year  should  be  apportioned  in  equal  amounts 
over  the  divisions  of  the  year  for  which  cost  statements  are  made. 

Royalty  or  Property  Depletion 

The  value  of  coal  or  mineral  rights,  at  cost,  should  be  extin- 
guished at  a  charge  to  Operations  in  a  fixed  amount  per  ton  or  per 
acre  as  the  property  is  exhausted.  Some  companies  have  revalued 
lands  on  their  books  and  so  created  a  surplus.  This,  in  probably 
almost  every  case,  was  not  a  wise  thing  to  do.  Assuming  that  the 
transaction  was  thoroughly  honest  in  intent,  properly  shown  on 
the  books  of  the  company  as  a  surplus  not  derived  from  operations, 
and  properly  followed  up  by  increased  charges  to  future  operations 
for  exhaustion,  it  will  appear  in  the  last  analysis  to  be  simply  reach- 
ing into  the  future.  I  would  say,  therefore,  that  while  such  re- 
valuation in  some  cases  may  seem  to  be  justified,  in  most  cases  it 
is  a  thing  which  ought  not  to  be  done.  If  the  lands  are  really 
worth  more  from  year  to  year  than  their  first  cost,  the  fact  will  be 
reflected  in  increased  selling  value  of  the  product,  which,  in  so  far 
forth,  will  increase  earnings.  The  difference  of  value,  believed  or 


MINING  COSTS  365 

hoped  to  exist,  ought  not  to  be  put  into  Surplus  Account  in  advance 
of  actual  sales  of  product,  thereby  increasing,  in  a  fictitious  way  in 
corresponding  amount,  the  mining  cost  of  the  future — in  other 
words,  it  may  be  said  to  be  always  wiser  and  more  conservative  to 
book  earnings  as  they  are  actually  realized,  not  as  anticipated  or 
hoped  for. 

Depreciation  of  Plant  and  Equipment 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  single  phase  of  accounting,  whether  of 
mining  or  manufacturing  companies,  more  complex  or  trouble- 
some, than  this  matter  of  Plant  and  Equipment  Depreciation ;  hence 
nothing  in  which  there  are  more  differences  of  opinion  and  method 
of  procedure  among  operating  companies;  I  might  add  nothing  in 
which  managements  and  accountants  may  more  easily,  and  with  the 
best  intentions,  deceive  themselves  and  each  other.  The  views, 
plans  and  methods  herein  set  forth  are,  therefore,  not  necessarily 
standard — they  are  more  or  less  the  result  of  my  personal  study 
and  experience. 

Up  to  the  time  when  a  mine  is  placed  on  an  operating  basis, 
that  is  when  it  is  ready  to  produce  the  daily  tonnage  for  which  its 
development,  plant  and  equipment  were  planned-  (regardless  of 
what  it  actually  does  produce  at  that  time,  determined  perhaps  by 
the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  labor  or  weather  conditions  or  car 
supply)  all  expenditures  for  development,  plant  and  equipment 
should  be  charged  to  Construction  Account  with  credit  to  that 
Account  for  product  sold  in  the  full  sum  realized  for  the  same. 
After  the  projected  development  has  been  completed  and  the  mine 
placed  on  an  operating  basis,  all  expenditures  made  during  the 
whole  course  of  its  life,  whether  for  development,  air  shafts,  road 
extensions,  mine  cars,  mining  machines,  motors,  power  houses, 
power  equipment  or  lines,  or  anything  that  may  be  installed,  should 
be  charged  to  Operations,  unless  such  expenditures  result  in  posi- 
tive increase  of  capacity,  in  which  case  they  may  be  charged  to 
Capital  Investment  with  a  proper  regard  to  the  question  of  the 
length  of  time  that  such  additions  may  reasonably  be  expected  to 
serve. 

Further  charges  should  be  made  to  Mining  Cost  monthly  in 
fixed  uniform  amounts,  with  credit  to  a  Fund  Account  generally 
known  as  Plant  and  Equipment  Depreciation  Fund,  for  the  replace- 
ment of  capital  originally  invested  in  such  Development,  Plant  and 
Equipment,  or  for  the  replacement  of  units  which  wear  out  or  be- 


366  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

come  obsolete.  The  extent  to  which  this  fund  may  be  used  for 
replacements  or  renewal  in  kind  must  be  determined  by  the  rate 
at  which  the  fund  is  accumulated.  If  the  rate  is  low  and  a  long 
period,  perhaps  the  entire  life  of  the  mine,  is  consumed  in  charg- 
ing Operations  with  the  full  amount  of  the  original  investment  (less 
salvage),  obviously  no  replacements  or  renewals  should  be  charged 
against  or  paid  out  of  the  fund — all  must  be  charged  to  Operations. 
If  the  rate  be  made  high  enough  so  that  a  much  shorter  period  is 
consumed  in  getting  into  the  fund  the  full  value  of  the  original 
investment  through  charges  to  Operations,  certain  replacements, 
renewals,  or  improvements  may  be  charged  against  the  fund. 

The  company  with  which  I  am  connected  now  follows  the 
uniform  rule  of  charging  Operations  with  depreciation  of  plant 
and  equipment  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum  on  net  (or 
reducing)  values,  with  credit  to  Depreciation  Fund.  This  will 
cover  into  the  fund  about  70  per  cent,  of  the  original  value  in 
twenty  years;  it  is  contemplated  that  salvage  values,  that  is,  the 
values  of  all  equipment  scrapped,  or  removed  for  use  at  other 
points  during  that  period,  together  with  the  remainder  value, 
credited  to  the  fund  will  make  up  the  30  per  cent,  or  balance  of 
original  value  not  charged  to  Operations  in  the  fixed  monthly 
charges. 

We,  therefore,  do  not  charge  any  renewals  or  replacements 
against  our  Depreciation  Fund  accumulation,  but  charge  them  all 
to  Operations ;  when  the  charges  are  so  large  as  to  seriously  impair 
monthly  comparisons  of  cost  they  are  spread  over  the  operations 
of  a  few  months. 


Labor 

In  the  Pittsburgh  Coal  Mining  District  labor  costs  fall  into  two 
general  divisions,  first,  that  which  is  paid  on  a  unit  basis  of  work 
performed,  such  as  the  scale  rate  for  pick  mining,  machine  mining 
subdivided  into  cutting  and  loading,  and  dead  work,  such  as  yard- 
age, room  turning,  break  throughs,  clay  veins,  etc.,  and,  second, 
that  which  is  paid  on  a  per  diem  basis,  such  as  motormen,  drivers, 
general  inside  labor,  tipple  labor,  general  outside  labor,  elec- 
tricians, etc.  It  would  hardly  be  profitable  to  follow  the  subdivisions 
of  labor  in  this  paper — they  differer,  of  course,  with  changing  con- 
ditions and  according  to  the  viewpoint  of  the  respective  operators. 


MINING  COSTS  367 

Supplies 

All  expenditures  for  Live  Stock  and  Supplies,  after  the  initial 
installation  at  a  new  mine,  should  be  charged  to  Operations  as 
made,  although,  for  purposes  of  checking,  and  accuracy  in  monthly 
comparisons  of  cost,  inventories  should  be  taken  at  the  close  of  each 
month  and  entries  made  debiting  Inventory  Account,  with  credit 
to  Operations,  for  unused  supplies  at  cost  and  for  Live  Stock  in  the 
service  at  a  fair  valuation,  taking  to  account  wear  and  tear. 

Fuel 

The  mining  cost  statement  at  a  mine  depending  upon  its  own 
power  plant,  which  does  not  include  a  charge  for  coal  consumed  in 
the  same  is  incomplete  and  apt  to  be  misleading  in  comparisons  with 
mines  purchasing  power  from  central  stations.  For  this  reason 
it  is  proper  to  charge  the  fuel  at  a  representative  value  to  Opera- 
tions, with  credit  to  Coal  Sales  Account,  notwithstanding  that 
Operations  have  already  been  charged  with  all  the  items  entering 
into  the  cost  of  the  product  so  consumed.  This  treatment  of  the 
individual  power  plant  fuel  of  course,  must  not  be  lost  sight  of 
in  the  general  summary  of  business  done. 

Insurance 

Fire,  tornado,  boiler  and  employer's  liability  insurance 
premiums  are  increasingly  important  as  items  to  be  taken  to  account 
in  mining  costs  whether  these  hazards  are  covered  by  insurance 
companies  or  assumed  by  the  operator.  In  the  latter  case  a  fund 
or  funds  should  be  created  and  maintained  at  a  charge  to  Opera- 
tions in  sufficient  amount  to  pay  all  losses,  and,  conservatism  sug- 
gests, to  accumulate  a  reasonable  surplus. 

General  Office  Expenses  and  Other  General  Expense 
General  Office  Expense  and  Other  General  Expense  should 
be  incorporated  in  mining  cost  statements  in  order  to  get  a  total 
outside  amount  of  cost  upon  which  to  base  selling  values;  they 
should,  however,  be  shown  separately  under  appropriate  headings, 
not  being  included  in  any  of  the  subdivisions  of  "Cost  at  Mine." 
In  a  company  conducted  exclusively  as  a  mining  company  it  is, 
perhaps,  better  not  to  differentiate  nicely  between  that  portion  of 
General  Office  Expense  which  is  chargeable  direct  to  mining,  such 
as  the  Operating  and  Engineering  Departments,  and  the  expenses 
of  Departments  of  Sales,  Transportation,  Finance,  Accounts,  etc. 
In  a  broad  sense,  the  base  of  all  the  company's  business  is  the 


368  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

production  of  its  mines,  hence  all  of  its  General  Office  Expense  may 
properly  be  included  as  a  part  of  its  total  mining  cost. 

Form  of  Cost  Statement  of  a  Typical  Bituminous  Mine 
Pittsburgh  District 

Operating          Days 

Production  in  Tons  of  Run  of  Mine  Tons 

\Y4"  Lump  % 

Small  Sizes  % 


Total 

Pick  Mined 
Machine  Mined 


Total 
Cost  per  Ton 


Pick  Mining 

Machine  Mining 

Yardage 

Room  Turning 

Break  Through 

Clay  Veins,  Spars,  etc. 

Drainage  and  Ventilation 

Animal  Haulage 

Mechanical  Haulage 

General  Inside  Labor 

Tipple  Labor 

General  Outside  Labor 

Supt.,  Clerks,  Pit  and  Fire  Bosses 

Mining  Machine  Repairs 

Mining  Machine  Expense 

Pit  Car  Repairs 

Pit  Rails  and  Ties 

Pit  Posts  and  Caps 

"T"  Iron  and  Spikes 

Power  Plant  Expense 

Stable  Expense 

General  Expense  at  Mine 


MINING  COSTS 


General  Repairs 


Total  Direct  Charges 


Labor 

Supplies 

Fuel 


369 


Royalty 
Depreciation 
Taxes,  Insurance 
and  other  General 
Expense 
General  Office 
Expense 

Total 


The    Federal    Government   and   the   Mining    Industry. 

HON.   M.  D.   FOSTER 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  American  Mining  Congress,  I 
greet  you: 

The  subject  of  "The  Federal  Government  and  the  Mining 
Industry"  is  one  that  has  been  discussed  so  much  and  so  often  that 
I  doubt  if  there  is  much  left  to  be  said  on  the  subject  that  is  new 
or  interesting  to  you.  It  has  been  my  pleasure  to  be  a  Member 
of  Congress  during  the  agitation  of  this  subject  in  an  effort  to 
induce  the  National  Legislature  to  do  something  for  the  mining 
industry  of  the  United  States.  Believing  that  there  should  be 
more  interest  manifested  in  mining  by  the  national  government 
than  was  being  given,  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  help  along,  as 
best  I  could,  in  this  important  work.  Congress  has  been  pretty 
liberal  in  appropriating  money  for  most  worthy  objects  in  the 
past.  Yet  it  must  be  realized  that  too  often  individuals  and  organi- 
zations go  to  the  Federal  Government  for  things  that  should  be  done 
by  State,  and  the  tendency  to  fasten  upon  the  National  treasury 
for  all  time  to  come  many  expenses  that  should  be  borne  by  the 
States  seems  to  be  popular  in  the  country  now.  Many  seem 
to  think  that  the  National  treasury  is  filled  by  some  means 
whereby  nobody  pays  the  tax.  It  is  true  that  many  activities,  such 
as  mining  and  agriculture,  are  better  promoted  by  National  aid 
in  connection  with  the  States  and  the  whole  expense  is  not  intended 
to  be  borne  by  the  National  treasury.  The  agitation  for  a  Depart- 
ment of  Mines  and  Mining  was  started  some  years  ago,  principally 
by  the  metal  mining  interests  of  the  West,  which  finally  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  the  present  Bureau  of  Mines  in  1910.  The 
determining  factor  at  the  time  being  the  awful  explosions  and  con- 
sequent loss  of  life  in  the  coal  mines.  The  Western  mining  interests, 
it  is  true,  did  not  receive  very  much  benefit  from  the  first  work  of 
the  Bureau,  and  has  not  been  given  the  attention  it  deserves. 

In  the  Sixty-second  Congress  there  was  appropriated  $50,000 
to  begin  the  work  in  the  metal  mining  sections  of  the  country. 


FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  MINING  INDUSTRY      371 

This  is  but  a  beginning  of  the  work  in  this  great  industry,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  be  the  means  of  starting  this  work  which 
will  finally  result  in  carrying  it  forward  to  greater  results.  In  the 
ores  of  Colorado  is  practically  all  the  radium  of  the  world,  and 
we  have  been  permitting  European  countries  to  export  this  ore 
and  extract  the  metal  and  bring  it  back  to  us  for  sale.  This  results 
because  we  have  neglected  this  important  branch  of  the  mining 
industry.  We  should  be  extracting  that  metal  from  the  ore  of 
our  own  country  and  selling  it  to  the  world.  The  low-grade  ores 
of  the  West  have  not  been  properly  worked  for  the  reason  that 
the  individual  has  been  unable  to  do  so  profitably.  If  the  National 
Government  could  assist  these  people  to  find  some  way  of  extract- 
ing the  metal  from  these  low-grade  ores,  it  would  be  the  means 
of  adding  millions  to  the  wealth  of  the  country.  We  help  in 
agriculture,  and  why  not  in  the  mining  industry  which  stands  next 
in  importance?  Is  it  worth  while?  I  think  so,  and  your  long 
experience  teaches  you  there  is  no  doubt  of  it. 

There  has  been  objection  in  some  quarters  that  the  entering 
on  the  work  in  mining  experimental  stations  in  the  West  that 
some  operators  will  be  benefited;  that  is  true  in  a  general  way, 
but  the  work  done  by  the  Government  will  be  general  in  character, 
so  that  all  interested  will  have  the  benefit,  and  the  work  will  jnot 
be  done  for  the  purpose  of  exploiting  the  value  of  any  particular 
mine. 

We  all  now  recognize  the  importance  of  the  experimental  farm 
for  the  benefit  of  agriculture.  Who  knows  the  great  possibility 
yet  undeveloped  in  our  Western  country  and  the  opportunity  of 
adding  millions  of  wealth  to  the  treasury  of  our  people  if  some 
systematic  work  can  be  done  to  advance  the  mining  industry  of 
that  section.  It  is  a  recognized  problem  in  the  metal  mining  States 
that  the  treatment  of  what  are  known  as  the  refractory  or  complex 
ores  is  one  of  difficult  solution.  The  help  the  Government  can 
lend  to  the  solving  of  these  problems  or  treating  this  class  of  ores 
we  think  would  certainly  be  of  great  benefit.  The  knowledge  gained 
by  the  work  of  the  Government  would  be  available  for  all.  The 
burden  is  too  big  for  the  individual,  and  must  be  undertaken  by 
the  State  or  nation  if  we  are  to  succeed.  We  believe  in  conserving 
the  natural  resources  of  our  country,  and  yet  no  individual  can  be 
expected  to  do  this  work  alone.  Those  engaged  in  the  mining 
industry  are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  how  to  treat  the 


372  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

complex  ores  so  as  to  save  the  smaller  quantity  of  metal,  as  you 
so  well  know  by  experience  that  the  zinc  smelter  cannot  treat  the 
zinc  ore  so  as  to  be  able  to  save  the  lead,  or  the  lead  smelter  the 
zinc,  and  the  sulphur,  arsenic,  iron  and  manganese  or  similar 
substances  are  also  lost.  To  help  solve  these  difficult  problems 
should  be  the  aim  of  some  Federal  agency.  Is  it  not  worth  an 
effort  and  the  expenditure  of  a  reasonable  amount  by  the  Federal 
Government  to  save  this  amount  to  our  people  and  thus  add  so 
much  to  the  wealth  of  our  land? 

The  importance  of  study  in  the  conservation  of  our  mineral 
resources  is  well  known  in  the  great  loss  in  the  low-grade  ores. 
The  large  amount  of  coal  left  in  the  ground  in  mining  is  an  example 
of  this  waste,  and  this  coal  is  forever  lost  to  mankind,  and  there  is 
no  way  in  the  future  to  secure  it. 

The  economical  use  of  fuel  is  a  study  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines, 
and  certainly  an  important  one.  This  is  an  age  of  economy  in 
manufacture  and  if  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  the  fuel  of  one 
factory  is  worth  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  than  in  another  on 
account  of  its  economical  use,  then  it  is  that  one  has  the  advantage 
over  the  other  in  the  unit  of  cost  of  production.  The1  record  shows 
that  the  value  of  the  manufacturers  of  the  country  have  increased 
from  more  than  four  billion  dollars  in  value  in  1870  to  more  than 
twenty  billion  of  dollars  in  1910,  and  the  increase  of  the  crude 
products  of  the  mines  have  increased  from  three  hundred  and 
sixty-four  millions  in  value  in  1880  to  more  than  two  billion  in 
1910,  showing  that  mining  increased  in  a  proportionate  rate  with 
manufacturing.  In  1870  the  per  capita  consumption  of  coal  was 
ninety-six  hundredths  tons,  and  in  1910  it  had  increased  to  five 
and  five-tenths.  As  a  basis  of  transportation  the  mines  of  the 
country  constitute  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage  by  weight.  Stop 
the  working  of  mines  even  temporarily  and  we  see  a  condition  that 
existed  in  Great  Britain  lately  when  the  wheels  of  industry  and  the 
facilities  of  transportation  standing  still  and  the  whole  nation  in 
idleness.  The  Bureau  of  Mines  has  lately  taken  up  the  problem 
of  the  conservation  in  natural  gas.  In  the  search  for  oil  the  natural 
gas  is  not  considered  of  much  value,  and  has  been  allowed  to 
escape  into  the  air  or  been  burned  in  the  field  where  it  was  of 
no  value.  It  is  believed  that  the  oil  can  be  taken  out  of  the  ground 
and  the  gas  so  walled  in  as  to  leave  it  for  future  use  when  wanted. 
If  the  problem  of  saving  this  valuable  fuel  can  be  solved  it  will 
be  the  means  of  adding  millions  to  our  wealth.  Let  us  hope  that 


FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  MINING  INDUSTRY      373 

with  the  research  instituted  by  the  Federal  Government  through 
the  Bureau  of  Mines  may  be  the  means  of  saving  to  the  people  a 
large  per  cent,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  tons  of  coal  now 
lost  each  year.  That  the  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent,  in  loss  in  metal 
mining  may  be  saved.  That  the  gases  lost  in  manufacturing  coke 
may  be  saved  for  a  useful  purpose.  When  we  stop  to  contemplate 
the  great  loss  going  on  from  year  to  year  is  it  not  enough  to 
awaken  us  to  the  importance  of  expending  a  reasonable  amount 
of  money  in  an  effort  to  stop  this  waste?  The  Bureau  of  Mines 
was  established  in  1910  because  of  the  great  loss  of  life  occurring 
in  the  mines  in  the  coal  mining  industry.  When  great  disasters 
occur  we  are  appalled  at  the  great  loss  of  life.  Yet  day  by  day 
the  loss  goes  on,  one  life  after  another  going  out  and  we  do  not 
think  so  much  of  it.  In  the  metal  mining  industry  the  record  shows 
that  almost  as  many  people  lose  their  lives  as  in  coal  mining.  The 
Bureau,  through  its  establishment  of  mine  rescue  station  first-aid 
instructions,  has  taught  the  miner  and  operator  the  importance  of 
care  in  preventing  accidents.  They  have  done  much  and  there  is 
still  a  great  deal  to  be  learned.  The  Government  has  done  a  great 
deal  for  agriculture  and  has  spent  millions  to  promote  this  great 
work,  and  why  should  not  the  Government  do  its  part  for  the 
mining  industry?  I  have  only  enumerated  a  few  reasons  why  the 
Federal  Government  should  lend  its  aid  to  this  great  industry,  and 
I  hope  in  the  future  more  may  be  done  looking  to  the  conservation 
of  human  life  and  the  conservation  and  economical  use  of  the 
products  of  the  mine.  Let  us  remember  the  progress  of  the  race 
to  higher  planes  of  civilization  is  brought  about  by  studying  the 
record  of  victory  and  failure  that  has  been  made  by  different 
investigators  by  avoiding  these  failure  and  taking  advantage  of 
those  successes.  Vast  sums  have  been  spent  in  the  investigations 
of  mining  conditions,  but  others  have  not  had  the  record  of  those 
investigations,  and  so  have  gone  over  the  same  road  to  meet  the 
same  failure  in  the  end.  I  am  for  enlarging  the  field  of  this  great 
work.  Let  the  nation  help  by  investigation  in  the  metal  mining, 
by  looking  to  the  conservation  of  our  mineral  resources.  By  care- 
ful study  as  to  the  safety  of  those  engaged  in  mining  so  as  to 
prevent  the  great  loss  of  life  that  has  existed  in  the  past.  The 
Federal  Government  can,  in  my  judgment,  well  afford  to  do  its 
part  in  this  great  work. 

It  certainly  is  the   duty  of  the  Federal   Government  to  lead 
the  way  in  the  great  work  of  solving  the  problems  that  confront 


374  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

the  mining  industry  of  the  country,  and  I  would  be  glad  to  see 
the  appropriation  increased  by  Congress  for  the  experimental  work 
in  the  Western  field  which  now  so  much  needs  it. 

I  would  even  go  farther  and  extend  aid  to  the  mining  schools 
under  State  control  that  they  might  be  better  atile  to  carry  forward 
their  great  work  of  education  in  this  important  industry  of  our 
country  as  is  now  done  for  the  agricultural  colleges  in  each  State. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  advocate  large  expenditures,  but  I  am  in 
favor  of  a  reasonable  appropriation  and  such  as  the  National 
treasury  can  afford  for  carrying  on  this  important  work.  Let  us  do 
something  for  the  eduction  of  those  who  are  now  in  the  mining 
schools  that  more  interest  may  be  awakened  to  the  importance  of 
this  great  industry.  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  am  with  you 
to  help  promote  the  interest  of  the  industry  in  which  you  are  so 
deeply  interested  and  so  much  desire  to  see  advanced.  It  will  be  my 
pleasure  to  do  whatever  is  reasonable  to  help  along  in  the  great 
work  of  bringing  out  of  the  mountains  their  treasures  of  wealth 
that  can  not  now  be  gotten  by  any  known  process,  that  human  life 
may  be  made  safe,  that  the  loss  of  thousands  of  lives  of  those  who 
work  in  the  mines  may  cease  and  that  this  great  industry  may 
receive  the  attention  it  deserves  by  the  National  Government. 


What  is  the  Matter  With  the  Mining  Industry? 

JOHN   W.   BOILEAU. 
PITTSBURGH,    PA. 


The  real  trouble  with  the  Mining  Industry  is,  in  the  main, 
the  neglect  and  inattention  on  the  part  of  not  only  the  persons 
engaged  in  such  industry,  but  particularly  that  of  the  members 
of  the  various  committees  at  Washington  who  have  to  do  with 
mining  affairs.  They  have  long  neglected  it 

Just  last  month  a  Congressman  from  Kansas  resigned  from 
the  Mines  and  Mining  Committee  and  three  other  committees 
ki  order  to  become  a  member  of  a  committee  where  he  expects 
to  get  more  publicity  and  greater  prestige. 

The  Mining  Industry  is  the  second  industry  in  importance 
in  the  United  States.  It  has  a  yearly  production  of  more  than 
two  billion  dollars  as  against  nine  billion  claimed  for  agriculture. 
This  comparison  does  not  give  justice  to  the  mining  industry, 
as  in  the  nine  billion  output  claimed  by  agriculture  there  are 
duplications  which  may  reach  as  high  as  three  or  four  billion 
dollars.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  figures  the  value  of  the 
corn  crop  and  then  figures  the  value  of  the  farm  animals  after 
the  corn  has  been  fed  to  them.  The  figures  upon  which  the  out- 
put of  the  mining  industry  is  based,  as  a  rule,  show  the  value 
of  the  raw  product  at  the  mines. 

While  the  mining  industry  is  the  second  in  importance  in 
this  country,  it  is  not  generally  understood  as  such.  The 
development  of  the  mines  came  after  agriculture,  and  as  a  result 
agriculture  made  its  claims  upon  the  Federal  Government  and 
the  various  State  Governments  for  aid  many  years  before  the 
mining  industry.  Agriculture  as  an  industry  is,  therefore,  better 
understood,  better  entrenched  and  better  taken  care  of.  The 
Federal  Government  altogether  has  appropriated  nearly  $24,- 
000,000  a  year  for  agriculture  and  the  States  approximately 
$11,000,000  more. 

The  Federal  Government  is  giving  to  the  mining  industry 
about  $1,000,000  per  year,  and  the  States  much  less  than  this. 


376  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

In  Congress,  there  is  always  a  number  of  members  who  are 
ready  at  all  times  to  champion  the  cause  of  agriculture. 

In  Congress,  there  are  very  few  men  who  understand  any- 
thing about  the  mining  industry. 

In  Congress,  membership  on  the  Agriculture  Committee  is 
considered  one  of  the  honors. 

In  Congress,  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  goes 
begging  for  a  chairman  or  for  membership  on  the  committee. 

This  is  because  of  the  first  remark  made  in  this  talk. 

The  attitude  of  Congress  generally  toward  the  mining  in- 
dustry is  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  industry's  importance  in  Great 
Britain.  Membership  on  the  Mines  and  Mining  Committee  in 
Parliament  there  is  one  of  the  highest  honors  that  a  member 
can  receive.  The  best  men  are  selected  for  this  place,  and  a 
debate  on  the  mining  industry  serves  to  bring  forth  the  entire 
membership,  and  it  becomes  almost  a  national  issue. 

Agriculture,  with  its  strong  organization  and  its  general 
recognition  throughout  the  country,  has  grown  so  rapidly  in 
public  favor  and  in  the  aid  given  by  the  Federal  Government, 
that  today  it  is  the  greatest  subsidized  industry  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.  For  every  $375  worth  of  product  taken  from  the 
ground,  the  farmer  received  $1  of  Federal  aid.  Add  the  State 
aid  of  $11,000,000  per  year  to  this  and  you  will  readily  see  that 
no  industry  at  any  time  has  ever  been  subsidized  to  such  extent. 

Agriculture  is  one  of  the  industries  of  least  hazard.  The 
men  work  out  in  the  open  air,  under  the  bright  sunlight,  and 
under  the  most  healthful  conditions. 

The  mining  industry  is  one  of  the  most  hazardous  known. 
In  1912,  3,602  men  were  killed  in  the  mines  and  quarries  in  the 
United  States.  The  men  work  in  the  dark  underground  pass- 
ages, away  from  the  light  of  day,  and  are  continually  surrounded 
by  unknown  terrors.  They  have  the  deadly  gases  of  the  mines 
to  contend  with,  and  the  even  more  dangerous  coal  dust.  There 
is  always  the  danger  of  fall  of  roof  crushing  the  lives  out  of  the 
men.  The  miners  in  the  metal  mines,  in  some  instances,  suffer 
and  languish  and  die  from  inhaling  stone-dust.  There  is  danger 
in  every  phase  of  the  industry. 

The  mining  industry  obtains  from  Congress  l-24th  the 
amount  of  money  given  to  agriculture.  According  to  the  figures 
given  out  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  that  industry  is 


THE  TROUBLE  WITH  THE  MINING  INDUSTRY          377 

only  a  little  more  than  four  times  as  large  as  the  mining 
industry. 

Mining  is  not  sufficiently  recognized  because  there  is  a  woe- 
ful lack  of  co-operation  throughout  the  country.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  mining  man  of  the  West  does  not  know  the  coal  mining 
operator  of  the  East,  and  the  reverse,  of  course,  is  true.  This 
lack  of  co-operation  extends  to  many  of  the  technical  and  trade 
papers,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  An  illustration  in  point — the  techni- 
cal papers,  with  one  or  two  possible  exceptions,  when  sent  the 
prospectus  of  the  meeting  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
and  Mining  Show,  have  failed  to  exhibit  any  enthusiasm  which 
would  lead  toward  a  good  meeting.  I  understand  that  Mr.  Call- 
breath,  the  Secretary,  wrote  personal  letters  to  these  papers, 
asking  editorial  comment  on  both  events,  and,  outside  of  two 
or  at  least  three  papers,  these  requests  were  ignored.  Take 
almost  any  other  industry,  and  its  national  convention  for  the 
year  is  the  greatest  event  of  the  year.  The  papers  are  filled 
with  advance  notices  and  there  is  a  hurrah  and  enthusiasm 
which  compels  a  great  attendance.  The  papers  take  the  move- 
ment as  their  own  and  make  it  appear  that  every  prominent  man 
in  the  industry  is  coming,  and  this  is  generally  the  result. 

This  spirit  of  "don't  care"  seems  to  pervade  the  entire  indus- 
try, even  in  the  regulation,  operation  and  the  marketing  of  the 
output,  especially  in  the  marketing  end  of  it,  as  some  operators 
are  operating  in  the  interests  of  other  than  the  stockholders  and 
bragging  about  giving  their  coal  away  at  the  same  price  as  the 
cost  of  a  load  of  dirt.  Any  co-operative  scheme  that  is  started 
will  take  the  most  difficult  work  before  it  can  be  a  success. 
Several  of  these  harmful  conditions  can  be  brought  about  by 
wakening  up  of  the  real  owners  of  the  property  to  the  alarming 
situation  that  will  result  if  such  policies  are  continued. 

There  never  seems  to  be  any  difficulty  in  getting  the  repre- 
sentative farmers  together.  It  is  but  a  short  time  ago  that 
the  Farmers'  Union  held  its  national  convention  at  Saline,  Kan- 
sas. The  first  day  of  the  convention  resolutions  were  passed 
demanding  more  liberal  agricultural  appropriations  and  the 
establishment  of  a  Bureau  of  Marketing  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  credit  extension,  stricter  immigration  laws,  etc. 
These  resolutions,  as  drawn  up,  were  sent  to  every  member  of 
Congress,  and  every  one  took  an  interest  in  them.  Agriculture 
has  gotten  to  a  point  where  it  does  not  ask — it  demands.  The 


378  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

mining  industry  begs  and  in  a  pitiful  way,  and  when  the  beggars 
ask  to  have  representative  mining  men  co-operate  with  them,  it 
is  generally  a  few  of  them.  Congress  soon  sees  that  the  appeal 
does  not  come  from  a  united  industry,  and  it  loses  interest. 

The  Remedy. — A  greater,  more  compact  and  more  repre- 
sentative organization  than  the  American  Mining  Congress,  the 
Mining  Congress  to  be  the  nucleus  of  this  organization.  Head- 
quarters offices  in  Washington,  with  a  staff  capable  of  taking 
care  of  the  interests  of  the  industry  before  Congress.  A  closer 
co-operative  spirit  among  the  prominent  men  engaged  in  the 
industry.  A  more  ready  response  to  the  call  for  help  when  legis- 
lation adverse  to  the  industry  is  introduced.  An  advisory  com- 
mittee that  will  meet  at  least  twice  a  year  and  take  up  the  prob- 
lems of  the  industry  and  in  a  positive  way  suggest  them  to  the 
convention  and  the  headquarters  offices  in  Washington,  where 
equal  positive  influence  shall  be  brought  in  legislation  that  will 
be  favorable. 

No  other  industry  of  any  importance  whatever  is  so  badly 
represented  in  Washington  as  the  mining  industry.  I  am  not 
casting  reflections  on  Mr.  Callbreath,  the  Secretary  of  our 
Mining  Congress,  in  this.  He  has  been  endeavoring  to  maintain 
an  office  in  Washington,  but  I  do  mean  that  there  have  been  no 
adequate  funds  to  carry  along  any  fight  for  the  industry.  There 
are  industries  that  are  insignificant  in  proportion  to  the  mining 
industry  that  have  headquarters  in  Washington,  with  an  expense 
account  of  $25,000  or  more  per  year,  and  this  expenditure  is 
considered  an  economy. 

An  illustration  of  how  badly  the  mining  industry  is  equip- 
ped along  this  line: — A  year  or  more  ago,  some  legislation  was 
introduced  which  threatened  the  interests  of  the  oil  men  in 
California.  This  obnoxious  legislation  passed  the  House  before 
the  oil  men  were  aware  that  there  had  been  any  such  legislation 
on.  Two  special  trains  were  engaged,  at  great  expense,  by  the 
California  operators.  The  oil  men  were  rushed  to  Washington, 
and  after  ten  days'  strenuous  endeavor  and  the  expenditure  of 
considerable  money  for  necessary  expenses,  these  men  were 
victorious. 

A  permanent  headquarters  office  for  the  mining  industry 
could  have  taken  care  of  a  similar  matter  before  it  had  reached 
the  dangerous  point,  and  with  a  fraction  of  the  expense  incurred 
by  the  California  oil  men. 


THE  TROUBLE  WITH  THE  MINING  INDUSTRY         379 

The  mining  men  themselves  do  not  seem  to  realize  the 
magnitude  of  their  own  industry.  The  industry  employs  more 
than  a  million  miners ;  750,000  are  coal  miners  and  more  than 
300,000  metal  miners.  Directly  and  indirectly  connected  with 
this  work  are  2,500,000  men. 

The  products  of  the  mines  constitute  65  per  cent,  of  the 
freight  traffic  of  the  country. 

Of  the  550,000,000  tons  of  coal  mined  in  1912,  it  would  make 
a  solid  train  of  regular  coal  cars  that  would  reach  around  the 
world  without  any  room  for  the  locomotives  to  haul  them. 

In  coming  to  our  home  State  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  entire 
production  of  coal  in  the  United  States  in  1912,  Pennsylvania 
produced  practically  45  per  cent,  of  the  total. 

Of  the  entire  production  of  coal  in  the  United  States  during 
the  past  life  of  the  coal  mining  industry,  more  than  50  per  cent, 
of  the  total  tonnage  has  been  mined  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  total  production  of  coal  during  1912  in  Pennsylvania 
equals  one-twentieth  (l-20th)  of  all  the  coal  ever  produced  in 
the  United  States. 

Inasmuch  as  coal  as  fuel  is  the  very  basis  of  all  industrial 
activity,  why  not  have  the  manufacturing  interests  and  the  coal 
interests  themselves,  each  interest,  whether  it  is  operating  in 
brick,  iron  or  steel,  or  any  interest  using  fuel,  all  give  their  influ- 
ence and  financial  aid  toward  establishing  a  Bureau,  with  head- 
quarters at  Washington,  that  will  co-operate  not  only  with  the 
Bureau  of  Mines,  but  with  any  member  of  Congress  to  represent 
any  industrial  interest  among  its  constituents.  No  member  of 
Congress  in  that  position  can  afford  to  forsake  the  mining  inter- 
ests of  the  largest  districts  in  the  country.  With  the  making  of 
a  great  and  industrial  center  like  Pittsburgh,  the  coal  industry 
has  gone  on  with  less  attention  from  the  press  or  individual  up- 
liftment  than  any  other  industrial  business  that  I  know  of. 


Lessons  of  the  Year  in  Our  Mining  Industry. 

DR.    JOSEPH    A.    HOLMES, 
DIRECTOR  BUREAU  OF   MINES,   WASHINGTON,   D.    C. 


1.  Our  mining  industry,  already  larger,  is  also  growing  more 
rapidly  than  that  of  any  other  great  country.     During  the  past 
century  the  value  of  our  mineral  products  for  each  ten  years  has 
almost  doubled  that  of  the  preceding  decade.    And  while  this  rate 
of  increase  will  probably  continue  to  be  a  diminishing  one,  the 
steadiness  and  continuity  of  this  growth  is  but  one  of  the  evidences 
that  for  many  years  to  come  the  industry  will  continue  to  grow  in 
magnitude  and  national  importance. 

2.  During  the  year  there  has   come  to  be  a   more  general 
recognition  of  mining  as  one  of  the  two — agriculture  being  the 
other — of  the  two  great  foundation  industries  of  the  nation.     All 
products  of  the  mine  become  at  once  articles  of  interstate  commerce, 
which  no  state  can  reserve  unto  itself,  but  which  must  serve  a 
higher  or  a  larger  purpose,  namely,  the  welfare  of  all  the  states ; 
and  under  the  recent  decisions  of  the  highest  courts  of  the  land, 
mining  is  thus  recognized  as  a  great  national  industry. 

3.  But  notwithstanding  these   facts,   and  the   fact   that  this 
most  hazardous  of  our  great  industries,  including  with  it  metal- 
lurgical operations,  gives  employment  to  more  than  2,000,000  men; 
contributes  to  our  national  wealth  yearly  products  valued  at  more 
than  $4,000,000,000,  which   furnish  more  than  two-thirds  of  our 
total  freight  tonnage,  out  of  which  we  build  and  operate  our  rail- 
ways and  steamship  lines,  our  telephone  and  telegraph  lines,  our 
buildings  and  our  highways,  develop  heat  and  light,  and  operate 
our   factories,   and  which   in   a   thousand   ways   contribute   to   the 
welfare  and  the  very  life  of  the  nation — this  great  national  industry 
of  such  vital  importance  to  all  the  people  is  receiving  but  tardy  and 
inadequate  recognition  and  aid  from  the  legislative  and  administra- 
tive branches  of  the  general  government. 

4.  The  speculative  and  dishonest  features  of  mining  are  di- 
minishing.   We  are  getting  further  away  from  Mark  Twain's  defini- 
tion of  a  mine.    Great  ore  deposits  like  those  now  being  developed 
at  Junea,  Alaska,   extensive  areas   of  gold-bearing  gravel,   or  the 
coal  fields   are,  preliminary   to   mining  operations   or  the   sale   of 


LESSONS  IN  OUR  MINING  INDUSTRY  381 

stock,  being  prospected  to-day  with  such  care  and  thoroughness 
that  mining  operations  may  be  entered  upon  with  as  much  certainty 
of  results  as  would  be  true  of  an  investment  in  a  building,  a 
manufacturing  plant,  or  farming.  Only  the  investor  need  see  to 
it  that  he  is  dealing  with  honest  and  experienced  men.  The  enforce- 
ment of  post  office  regulations,  and  various  state  laws,  enacted  at 
the  request  of  the  American  Mining  Congress,  is  doing  much  to 
check  the  dishonest  mine  promoter;  and  with  these  agencies  the 
Bureau  of  Mines  is  co-operating  as  far  as  it  can  do  so.  The 
opening  up  of  large  low-grade  ore  bodies,  heretofore  generally  and 
necessarily  ignored  in  our  great  mining  states,  is  another  phase  of 
mining  development  which  will  yield  more  certain  returns  on  the 
capital  invested,  and  will,  therefore,  give  greater  safety  to  the  small 
as  well  as  to  the  large  investor  in  mines,  and  this  development  will 
also  give  greater  stability  to  labor  conditions. 

5.  The  discovery  and  development  of  these  large  low-grade  ore 
bodies,  like  that  of  iron  and  coal,  bring  about  conditions  which  are 
not  such  as  to  interest  or  encourage  the  ordinary  prospector.     But 
with  the  needed  discovery  of  more  efficient  methods  for  working 
these  low-grade  ores,  the  interest  in  them  will  increase;  new  pros- 
pecting methods  will  be  developed;  new  prospectors  will  traverse 
the  hills;  and  in  many  regions  a  new  life  for  mining,  more  stable 
and  more  permanent,  will  result. 

In  the  placer  regions  of  Alaska  the  old-time  prospector  still 
has  his  fields  of  activity.  Every  year  he  enjoys  a  new  stampede. 
Now  and  then  he  makes  a  stake,  and  usually  reinvests  all,  or  a 
large  part  of  his  savings,  in  another  strike.  It  is  the  poor  man's 
field,  with  a  future  as  well  as  a  past.  In  recent  stampedes,  how- 
ever, there  has  developed  a  practice  which  threatens  to  seriously 
interfere  with,  if  it  does  not  destroy,  prospecting  of  the  old  type; 
that  is  the  practice,  which  I  believe,  to  be  both  undesirable  and 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  law,  under  which  wealthy  individuals 
and  large  corporations  rush  their  well-equipped  hired  men  to  a  new 
discovery  to  stake  claims,  each  in  his  own  name,  and  then  imme- 
diately transfer  such  claims  to  their  employers. 

6.  It  is  as  to  mine-safety  that  the  year's  experience  teaches  the 
most  important  lessons.     The  decided  progress  in  reducing  the  loss 
of  life  in  coal  mining  during  the  past  few  years  gives  encourage- 
ment as  to  what  may  be  further  accomplished  along  this  line.    Mine 
owners,  miners,  and  mine  inspectors  all  deserve  commendation  for 
their  good  work  during  the  year  in  behalf  of  mine  safety,  mine 


382  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

rescue  and  first-aid  work.  But  we  should  all  realize  that  we  have 
but  begun  the  good  work.  The  recent  awful  disasters  in  Wales  and 
in  Germany,  and  several  smaller  disasters  in  this  country,  indicate 
the  need  of  new  and  greater  efforts  to  prevent  the  occurrence  of 
similar  disasters  during  the  new  year  upon  which  we  are  now 
entering.  Let  no  man  think  that  his  mine  is  safe.  Most  of  the 
disasters  have  occurred  in  our  best  mines. 

We  must  take  no  chances.  We  must  give  safety  the  benefit  of 
every  doubt.  Every  mine  owner,  and  every  miner  in  his  employ, 
should  co-operate  in  a  determined  effort  to  prevent  even  the  smallest 
of  accidents ;  for  it  is  often  the  small  accidents  that  inaugurate  large 
disasters.  Let  no  man  be  careless  where  the  lives  of  men  are  at 
stake.  Both  operators  and  miners  should  and  will  welcome  the 
most  rigid  inspection  and  enforcement  of  law  by  the  state's  inspec- 
tors. With  all  efforts  for  greater  safety  the  Bureau  of  Mines  will 
co-operate  to  the  fullest  possible  extent. 

7.  There  has  been  progress  in  the  movement  for  the  prevention 
of  waste  in  mining  and  metallurgical  operations.  The  Bureau  has 
been  endeavoring  to  collect  reliable  data  as  to  the  nature  and  extent 
of  such  waste,  and  possible  methods  of  lessening  or  preventing  the 
same.  That  this  waste  is  large  all  admit ;  but  few,  however,  appeared 
to  realize  what  now  appears  to  be  the  case,  that  the  aggregate  value 
to  the  nation  of  the  sum  total  of  all  the  waste  of  mineral  products 
may  be  said  to  approximate  a  million  dollars  per  day. 

The  special  efforts  of  the  Bureau  will  be  along  the  lines  of 
finding  out  what  part  of  this  waste  is  preventable  under  existing 
conditions,  and  how  this  waste  prevention  may  be  brought  about 
to  a  larger  extent  each  year  as  new  and  more  favorable  conditions 
develop.  Already  some  progress  has  been  made,  the  most  notable 
example  being  the  saving  during  this  first  year  of  natural  gas  and 
oil  having  an  aggregate  value  equal  to  many  times  the  total  cost 
of  the  Bureau  from  its  inauguration  to  the  present  time.  The  re- 
sults of  pending  inquiries  and  investigations  indicate  the  possibility 
of  much  larger  future  yearly  waste  prevention  in  connection  with 
both  mining  and  metallurgical  operations. 

8.  Since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Mining  Congress  a  new  organic 
act  for  the  Bureau  of  Mines  has  been  enacted  by  Congress.  The 
duties  and  purposes  of  the  new  Bureau  have  been  enlarged  to  the 
full  scope  asked  for  by  its  friends ;  and  at  last  metal  mining  has 
been  recognized  in  Federal  legislation  as  an  important  branch  of  the 
mining  industry.  Meanwhile,  also,  Congress  has  appropriated 


LESSONS  IN  OUR  MINING  INDUSTRY  383 

$100,000  for  investigations  and  inquiries  relative  to  safety  and 
waste  in  the  mining  and  treatment  of  ores  and  other  mineral  sub- 
stances. These  inquiries  and  investigations,  relating  to  all  mineral 
resources  other  than  coal,  are  now  in  progress  in  a  considerable 
number  of  states  where  mining,  quarrying  and  metallurgical  opera- 
tions are  under  way.  The  other  special  appropriations  for  the  work 
of  the  Bureau  are  $135,000  for  testing  the  coal  and  oil  used  by  the 
general  government;  and  about  $360,000  for  investigations  of  mine 
explosions  and  other  accidents  in  coal  mines. 

9.  I  am  aware  of  many  criticisms  of  the  Bureau  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  because  of  its  failure  to  do  numerous  things  of 
which  there  is  serious  need,  and  which  if  done  would  aid  greatly 
in  better  safeguarding  the  health  and  lives  of  miners,  and  would 
be  generally  helpful  in  the  prevention  of  waste,  as  well  as  in  the 
general  development  of  the  mining  industry.  I  know,  however,  that 
while  agreeing  with  our  critics  that  these  things  ought  to  be  done, 
and  come  within  the  scope  prescribed  by  Congress  for  the  Bureau, 
members  of  the  Mining  Congress  all  realize  the  inadequacy  of  our 
appropriations  for  doing  even  the  many  things  needed  and  that  have 
to  do  directly  with  the  saving  of  life. 

It  is  more  unfortunate,  however,  that  our  inability  to  do  many 
of  these  things  at  the  opportune  time  tends  to  discredit  all  our  work 
and  even  the  movement  for  greater  safety  among  the  miners,  who 
appreciate  less  fully  the  cost  of  such  investigations,  and  whose  good 
will,  confidence,  and  co-operation  is  essential  to  the  success  of  all 
our  efforts. 

But  while  the  situation  is  at  times  profoundly  discouraging,  there 
is  nevertheless  good  evidence  of  progress.  The  movement  for  safety 
as  appreciably  reduced  the  loss  of  life  in  coal  mines  during  the  four 
years  since  our  investigations  were  begun.  The  co-operation  of 
both  mine  owners  and  miners  with  the  Bureau  in  this  work  is  now 
more  effective  than  ever  before.  In  the  work  for  the  prevention  of 
waste  the  saving  during  the  first  year  has  exceeded  in  money  value 
many  times  the  total  cost  of  the  Bureau.  Congress  at  its  last  session 
authorized  an  appropriation  of  $300,000  for  new  laboratories  for  the 
work  of  the  Bureau  at  Pittsburgh.  And  it  is  hoped  that  in  the  near 
future  this  recognition  and  aid  for  the  mining  industry  from  the 
Federal  government,  so  much  needed  and  so  long  demanded  by  the 
American  Mining  Congress,  may  be  more  nearly  commensurate  with 
the  sacrifices  and  the  national  importance  of  the  industry. 


The  Cost  of  Coal  Mining. 

EDWARD  W.  PARKER, 
UNITED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


In  order  to  do  justice  to  the  subject  and  to  the  occasion,  ; 
paper  on  the  cost  of  coal  mining  prepared  for  presentation  befor 
the  American  Congress  should  be  based  upon  an  intensive  stud; 
of  the  records,  not  too  many,  of  typical  operations  in  a  sufficien 
number  of  states  to  get  results  capable  of  analytical  comparisoi 
and  deduction.  Unfortunately,  when  I  was  asked  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Congress  to  prepare  this  paper  there  was  not  time  t< 
collect  data  from  which  such  a  study  could  be  made,  and  I  hav 
been  compelled  to  adopt  as  the  basis  of  this  discussion  the  lates 
official  statistics  available,  those  of  the  Thirteenth  Census  of  th 
United  States,  which  covers  the  calendar  year  1909.  Since  tha 
time  wages  have  been  advanced  in  both  the  anthracite  and  bitu 
minous  districts,  and  prices  for  the  product  have  been  raise( 
to  compensate  for  (and  in  some  cases,  possibly  more  than  offset' 
the  increased  cost  of  production. 

If  at  the  outset  I  may  be  permitted  to  make  a  suggestion 
as  to  one  thing  needed  in  the  coal-mining  industry  (looking  at  i 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  statistician  and  economist)  it  is  ; 
standardization  in  the  methods  of  accounting.  It  is  difficult- 
one  might  say  impossible — to  compile  accurate  statistical  dat; 
regarding  cost  and  value  of  product  when  operators  themselve; 
can  not  tell  what  their  product  costs  nor  what  they  actually  re 
ceive  for  it,  and  when  their  only  means  of  judging  whether  the] 
are  making  or  losing  money  is  by  their  bank  accounts.  Withii 
the  present  year  the  Geological  Survey  was  requested  by  on< 
corporation,  whose  value  of  production  is  measured  by  the  ten: 
of  millions,  to  furnish  statements  of  its  output  some  ten  or  fifteer 
years  ago,  which  it  was  unable  to  ascertain  from  its  own  records 
The  only  reason  that  the  Survey  could  not  comply  with  the  re 
quest  was  that  the  schedules  and  tabulations  are  kept  for  two 
years  only,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  and  are  then  destroyed 
as  there  is  no  place  where  they  can  be  safely  stored  and  the  besi 
method  of  maintaining  their  confidential  character  is  to  burr 
them. 

In  the  anthracite  region  particularly  is  it  difficult  to  secure 


THE  COST  OF  COAL  MINING  385 

accurate  information,  not  only  in  regard  to  mining  cost,  but  also 
the  value  at  first  hand  of  the  output.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
anthracite  is  sold  at  so  much  a  ton  delivered  at  Buffalo,  or  Chi- 
cago, or  Milwaukee,  or  wherever  it  may  be,  and  the  sale  price 
of  the  coal  at  the  mines  includes  the  freight  to  the  point  of  de- 
livery and  is  so  entered  on  the  books.  Until  the  recent  action  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court  abolishing  the  contracts  be- 
tween the  anthracite  companies  and  the  transportation  interests, 
all  the  anthracite  shipped  to  New  York  harbor  ports  for  a  number 
of  years  has  been  sold  on  a  percentage  basis  of  the  tidewater 
price,  the  railroads  taking  35  per  cent,  for  the  freight  and  return- 
ing 65  per  cent,  to  the  operators.  The  magnitude  of  the  task  of 
determining  what  the  actual  value  of  the  product  is,  was  rather 
forcibly  brought  home  to  me  last  spring,  when  I  called  at  the 
New  York  office  of  one  of  the  big  anthracite  companies  for  the 
purpose  of  urging  the  expediting  of  that  company's  report.  It 
had  furnished  complete  reports  of  production,  by  sizes,  for  its 
numerous  mines,  but  had  omitted  any  statement  of  values.  I 
had  written  a  letter  urgently  requesting  as  accurate  a  statement 
of  the  value  as  I  had  received  of  the  production,  and  had  been 
promised  the  additional  information.  The  auditor  brought  for 
my  observation  sheet  upon  sheet  of  closely  written  figures,  upon 
which  the  calculations  necessary  to  get  the  data  had  been  made. 
It  had  taken  the  entire  time  of  one  clerk  more  than  two  weeks  to 
do  the  work. 

What  goes  into  mining  cost  is  in  many  cases  as  difficult  to 
ascertain.  As  many  here  well  know,  the  old  type  of  wooden  or 
corrugated  iron  breakers  in  the  anthracite  region  of  Pennsyl- 
vania are  giving  way  rapidly  to  modern  structures  or  reinforced 
concrete  or  other  fireproof  construction.  I  have  been  reliably 
informed  that  the  investment  in  most  of  these  cases  is  charged, 
not  to  capital  account,  but  to  mining  expenses!  It  must,  of 
course,  eventually  go  into  the  cost  of  mining,  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  it  is  an  investment,  not  an  expense,  and  when  charged  into 
the  cost  of  mining  should  be  in  the  form  of  depreciation,  and  ot 
interest  on  the  investment.  These  are  cited  merely  as  examples 
of  the  complexities  which  confront  the  economist  when  he  under- 
takes to  analyze  such  statistics  as  he  finds  available.  There  is  a 
somewhat  general  impression  that  the  mining  of  coal,  both 
anthracite  and  bituminous,  is  a  highly  lucrative  avocation,  and 
that  the  principal  occupation  of  the  so-called  coal  barons  is  to 


386  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

look  pleasant  as  the  golden  stream  flows  into  their  coffers.  I 
venture  to  state,  taking  the  industry  as  a  whole,  that  there  are 
few  lines  of  industrial  endeavor  where,  during  the  last  ten  years, 
there  have  been  smaller  returns  for  the  capital  invested  and  for 
the  energy,  mental  and  manual,  that  has  been  put  into  it,  than  in 
the  business  of  coal  mining.  As  has  been  already  observed,  the 
only  recent  official  statistics  of  relative  cost  and  value  available 
are  those  presented  in  a  recent  bulletin  published  by  the  Bureau 
of  the  Census  and  which  cover  the  calendar  year  1909.  This 
report  shows  that  the  value  of  the  Pennsylvania  anthracite 
produced  in  that  year  was  $148,957,894.  The  total  gross  ex- 
penses amounted  to  $139,110,444,  from  which  should  be  deducted 
$4,864,844  made  up  from  charges  to  miners  for  explosives,  oil, 
and  blacksmithing,  making  the  net  expenses  $134,245,600.  The 
gross  expenses  are  itemized  as  follows: 
Services: 

Salaries $  4,572,489 

Wages 92,169,906    $  96,742,395 

Supplies : 

Fuel  and  power 3,189,279 

Other  supplies 23.472,809        26,662,088 

Royalties  7,969,785 

Miscellaneous 7,736,176 


Total  gross  expenses $139,110,444 

Deductions   4,864,844 


Net  expenses $134,245,600 

The  total  production  in  1909  amounted  to  72,215,273  long 
tons,  so  that  the  average  value  per  ton  for  the  output  in  that 
year  was  $2.06;  the  average  cost  per  ton  was  $1.86;  and  the  net 
returns  on  the  operations  for  the  year  were  $14,712,294,  or  an 
average  of  20  cents  per  ton.  This  at  first  glance  looks  like  a  fair 
return,  but  attention  must  be  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Census 
figures  of  cost  make  no  allowance  for  interest  on  capital  invested 
or  borrowed,  and  no  offsetting  charge's  for  amortization  or  depre- 
ciation. According  to  the  returns  to  the  Bureau  of  the  Census, 
the  entire  capital  invested  in  anthracite  mining  in  1909  was  $246,- 
700,000,  which  may  appear  rathe**  inadequate  when  one  con- 
siders the  magnitude  of  the  industry,  and  an  annual  production 
of  $150,000,000  (in  1911  the  output  was  valued  at  $175,189,392  and 


COST  OF  COAL  MINING  3$7 

in  1912  it  was  $177,622,626),  but  I  am  taking  the  figures  reported 
by  the  Census  Bureau.  If  on  this  .capitalization  an  allowance  of 
4  per  cent,  be  made  for  interest,  the  net  returns  for  the  year 
amounted  in  round  numbers  to  $4,844,000.  If,  as  I  suggested 
at  the  outset,  new  breakers  and  other  equipment  are  charged  into 
operating  expenses,  no  allowance  need  be  made  for  depreciation, 
but  surely  the  exhaustion  of  from  75,000,000  to  80,000,000  tons 
from  the  reserves  every  year  should  have  some  amortization 
charged  against  it  and  if  5  cents  a  ton  be  allowed  the  margin  of 
$4,800,000  is  practically  wiped  out.  At  least  it  may  be  said  that 
from  the  operators'  standpoint  there  may  have  been  some  reason 
for  the  recent  advances  in  the  price  of  anthracite,  the  effect  of 
which  the  author  of  this  paper  has  felt  as  keenly  as  any  other 
consumer  of  anthracite. 

The  figures  covering  the  cost  and  value  of  bituminous  coal 
show  even  more  striking  comparisons.  (I  may  remark  here  that 
there  are  some  slight  differences  in  the  statistics  of  production 
between  the  Census  figures  and  those  published  by  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  for  the  reason  that  the  Census  investi- 
gations excluded  mines  having  a  production  of  less  than  1000 
tons,  whereas  the  Survey  rakes  the  country  with  a  fine-tooth 
comb  and  includes  every  small  country  bank,  from  which  it  can 
secure  a  report.  For  1909  the  Survey  showed  a  bituminous  coal 
production  of  379,744,257  short  tons  valued  at  $405,486,777,  and 
the  Census  Bureau  showed  a  production  of  376,865,510  tons 
valued  at  $401,577,477,  the  difference  being  about  3,000,000  tons 
in  quantity  and  $4,000,000  in  value — less  than  1  per  cent,  in  either 
case.  As  the  Census  figures  for  cost  of  mining  are  the  basis  of 
this  discussion,  the  Census  figures  of  production  are  also  used). 

The  total  value  of  the  bituminous  production,  as  already 
stated,  was  $401,577,477,  and  the  mining  expense  of  producing  this 
value,  including  salaries  of  officers,  was  $378,159,282.  As  in  the 
case  of  anthracite,  the  expenses  of  production  do  not  include  any 
charges  for  depreciation,  amortization,  or  interest  on  capital  in- 
vested or  borrowed.  The  expenses  are  divided  as  follows : 

Salaries  .  .    $  20,417,392 

Wages 282,378,886 

Supplies 45,345,932 

Royalties 12,035,900 

Miscellaneous 17,961,172 


Total  .    $378,159,282 


388  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

From  this  it  appears  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  total  cost  and  70 
per  cent,  of  the  total  value  was  spent  in  wages.  Salaried  offi- 
cials got  less  than  5.5  per  cent. 

Now,  let  us  see  what  capital  got.  The  total  capital  invested 
in  the  bituminous  coal  mines  of  the  United  States  in  1909  was, 
according  to  the  Census  bulletin,  in  round  numbers  $960,000,000 
($960,289,465),  and  I  do  not  think  that  looks  as  if  there  were 
very  much  over-valuation,  whatever  the  capitalization  may  be  as 
represented  by  stock  issue.  The  difference  between  the  value  of 
the  product  and  the  expense  of  producing  it  was  $23,440,000  (I 
shall  talk  the  rest  of  this  in  round  numbers),  or  a  fraction  over 
2.5  per  cent,  on  the  capital.  The  average  value  per  ton  of  all 
the  bituminous  coal  produced  in  the  United  States  was  $1.07,  the 
costs  averaged  a  fraction  of  a  cent  over  $1.00,  so  that  the'  margin 
of  profit  to  cover  interest,  depreciation,  and  amortization  was  a 
little  less  than  7  cents  a  ton.  In  some  states  the  expenses  ex- 
ceeded the  returns.  Take  Arkansas,  for  instance,  where  the 
expenses  totaled  $3,630,526  and  the  value  of  the  product  was 
$3,508,590.  Other  instances  were: 

Value  of  Product.         Expenses. 

Iowa  $12,682,106  $12,816,076 

Kentucky 9,940,485  10,127,987 

Tennessee   6,548,515  6,691,482 

Oklahoma    6,185,078  6,536,441 

Virginia 4,336,185  4,392,440 

Pennsylvania,  by  long  odds  the  most  important  producer, 
with  an  output  of  137,300,000  tons,  showed  a  total  of  expenses 
of  $117,440,000  and  of  value  of  $129,550,000,  a  balance  on  the 
profit  side  of  a  little  over  $12,000,000,  or  about  3  1-3  per  cent,  on 
the  capital  invested,  $358,600,000.  The  four  competitive  states, 
West  Virginia,  Illinois,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  which  rank  second, 
third,  fourth  and  fifth,  respectively,  in  producing  importance,  all 
show  such  narrow  margins  between  income  and  outlay  that 
profits  are  visible  only  with  a  miscroscope.  The  figures  follow : 

Value  of  Product.       Expenses.        Difference. 
West  Virginia..   $  44,344,067    $43,024,716    $1,319,351 

Illinois   53,030,545        51,697,504      1,333,041 

Ohio 27,353,663        27,153,497         200,166 

Indiana  .  15,018,123         14,906,831          111,292 


$139746,398    $136,782,548    $2,963,850 


THE  COST  OF  COAL  MINING  389 

These  four  states  with  an  aggregate  production  of  a  little 
more  than  the  bituminous  output  of  Pennsylvania,  showed  a  total 
of  less  than  $3,000,000  as  the  excess  of  receipts  over  expenses. 
The  capital  invested  in  the  coal-mining  industry  in  these  states 
was  something  over  $310,000,000,  so  that  the  returns  on  the 
capital  were  less  than  1  per  cent. 

I  do  not  wish  to  tax  the  patience  of  this  audience  to  the 
breaking  point,  but  there  is  one  other  fact  to  which  I  desire  to 
call  attention,  and  that  is  to  the  conditions  in  the  public  land 
states,  which  are  also  coal  producers.  They  are  California,  Col- 
orado, Idaho,  Montana,  New  Mexico,  North  Dakota,  Utah, 
Washington  and  Wyoming.  All  of  them  showed  favorable  com- 
parisons with  other  states.  They  produced  in  round  numbers 
25,000,000  short  tons  of  coal  in  1909.  The  value  of  the  product 
was  $37,000,000,  (J), tne  expenses,,  $32,400,000,  the  difference  being 
say,  $4,600,000.  The  capital  reported  was  approximately  $70,- 
000,000,  so  that  the  average  earnings  on  the  capital  invested  in 
these  states  was  between  6  and  7  per  cent.,  as  compared  with  less 
than  1  per  cent,  in  West  Virginia,  Illinois,  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
and  of  ;;bout  2.5  percent,  for  all  the  bituminous  coal  mined  in 
the  United  States  in  1909. 

I  am  present,  not  as1  an  advocate  of  the  coal-mine  operators  of 
the  United  States  nor  have  I  prepared  this  paper  in  their  interest. 
I  must,  in  fact,  confess  that  when  I  began,  less  than  three  weeks  ago, 
-a  study  of  the  Census  bulletin,  I  was  somewhat  surprised  at  the 
facts  presented  therein,  though  I  was  somewhat  familiar  with 
the  general  situation.  If  there  is  any  other  branch  of  the  min- 
ing industry  conducted  on  such  narrow,  not  to  say  dangerous 
margins,  I  should  be  glad,  yet  sorry,  to  know  it,  and  when  these 
figures  are  considered  one  must  feel  that  if  there  is  any  mulcting 
of  the  people  in  the  coal  that  goes  into  their  heating  furnaces 
and  kitchen  ranges,  the  coal-mine  operators  are  not  the  robber 
barons.  And  when  the  dividing  line  between  profit  and  loss  is  so 
faint,  all  the  more  credit  is  due  to  the  men  in  authority  who  are 
throughout  all  of  the  coal-mining  regions  spending  thousands 

C1)  These  figures  include  a  small  production,  about  200,000  tons,  valued 
at  $300,000,  from  Georgia,  with  the  expenses  and  capital  incident  thereto.  All 
of  the  sttaes  mentioned  except  Colorado,  North  Dakota  and  Wyoming  were 
grouped  by  the  Census  Bureau  as  "Other  States." 


390  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

of  dollars  to  reduce  the  hazard  and  improve  the  conditions  under 
which  the  men  work  for  the  coal  we  burn. 

Mr.  Hennen  Jennings :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr.  Parker  if  he 
has1  made  any  study  of  the  fact,  for  instance,  that  in  Washington 
they  have  to  pay  seven  dollars  and  a  half  for  anthracite  coal,  and 
also  how  the  cost  is  determined  between  the  mines1  and  the  distri- 
buting point. 

Mr.  Parker :  Most  of  the  domestic  consumers  do  not  realize 
that  a  profit  on  anthracite  coal  has  to  be  made  out  of  aihout  sixty 
per  cent,  of  the  output.  All  of  the  prepared  or  profitable  sizes; 
such  as  furnace,  egg,  range  and  nut  (pea  coal  is  now?  I  suppose, 
included  among  the  profitable  sizes)  make  up  about  sixty  per  cent. 
of  the  total  output,  possibly  a  little  more.  The  rest,  the  smaller 
sizes  which  are  used  for  steaming  purposes,  comes1  into  competi- 
tion with  bituminous  coal,  and  in  all  cases  is1  sold  at  less  than  the 
actual  cost  of  production.  Some  figures  in  regard  to  that  con- 
dition were  published  in  my  annual  report  this  year.  The  average 
price  for  the  prepared  sizes  at  the  mines  will  range  somewhere  be- 
tween three  dollars  and  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  ton,  the 
freight  to  Washington  is  two  dollars1,  so  that  the  cost  price  to  the 
dealers  there  is  between  five  and  six  and  a  half  dollars.  The 
dealers,  I  suppose,  think  they  are  entitled  to  some  profit  for  hand- 
ling the  coal.  The  price  recently  has  gone  up  from  seven  and 
a  quarter  to  seven  fifty,  and  now  we  are  paying  seven  fifty — or  I 
think  something  of  that  kind.  The  cost  of  mining  has1  been  in- 
creased since  1909,  by  the  addition  of  ten  per  cent  in  the  wages 
paid  to  the  miner,  and  I  suppose  also  the  operators  feel  they  are 
entitled  to  make  some  profit  on  their  mining  operations. 

A  Delegate:  Isn't  it  a  fact  from  those  figures  that  the  cost  of 
(Distribution  to  the  consumer  for  the  coal  that  goes  to  the  city 
is  as1  much  as  the  average  at  the  mines  ? 

Mr.  Parker:  I  think  that  is  the  chief  trouble.  Of  course, 
that  is  a  matter  which  has  a  very  important  bearing  on  the  cost  of 
coal  to  the  consumer.  It  is  a  detail  into  which  we  cannot  go, for 
the  reason  that  we  have  not  the  money  to  carry  on  an  investigation 
of  that  kr'rid.  The  question  of  transportation  cost  may  be  the 
milk  in  the  cocoanut. 


The   Relation   of  Big   Business   to   Industrial   Prosperity,   with 
Special  Reference  to  Mining. 

DR.  CHARLES  R.  VAN  HISE, 
PRESIDENT   WISCONSIN    UNIVERSITY,    MADISON,   WIS. 


The  subject  assigned  to  me  is:  Big  Business  in  its  Relation 
to  Industrial  Prosperity,  with  Particular  Reference  to  Mining. 
It  is  de'sired,  I  understand,  that  I  discuss  the  trust  problem  in 
its  broader  relations  and  particularly  in  relation  to  mining. 

Statement  of  the  Problem 

It  is  a  very  curious  fact  that  the  larger  part  of  the  discussions 
of  the  magazines  and  newspapers  regarding  trusts  during  the 
past  two  years,  including  the  presidential  campaign  clustered 
about  a  phrase  invented  by  Mr.  Louis  Brandeis.  He  said :  "The 
question  before  the  people  is,  the  regulation  of  competition  vs. 
the  regulation  of  monopoly."  The  phrase  was  indeed  a  stroke 
of  genius,  in  that  it  struck  popular  fancy,  and  was  accepted  as  a 
correct  statement  of  the  trust  problem.  The  alternative  pre- 
sented naturally  led  the  people  to  turn  toward  regulated  com- 
petition. However,  I  hold  that  no  such  necessary  alternative 
is  before  us  at  the  present  time.  There1  are  many  other  solutions 
of  the  question  of  the  trusts  than  regulated  competition  or  regu- 
lated monopoly.  The  scientific  mind  demands  not  simply  that 
two  of  the  various  possible  solutions  be'  considered,  but  that  all 
be  taken  into  account,  and  the  best  one  among  them  selected. 

Also  in  the  discussions  of  the  trust  problem  magnitude  and 
monopoly  in  industry  have  been  treated  as  synonymous  terms. 
They  are  not  synonymous  terms.  Monopoly  has  a  well-defined 
meaning  in  law,  and  it  is  that  meaning  which  should  be  as- 
signed to  this  term  in  a  discussion  before  a  mining  congress. 
There  may  be  great  magnitude  in  a  business,  and  not  monopoly. 
Indeed  it  is  believed,  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of  large 
organizations  fall  short  of  monopoly ;  but  it  has  been  tacitly  as- 
sumed in  most  public  discussions  that  all  are  monopolies.  That 
is  a  thing  to  be  proved,  with  regard  to  any  one  of  them  of  which 


392  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

it  is  asserted.  Only  if  we  assume  that  all  of  the  great  concen- 
trations of  industry  are  monopolies,  does  the  statement  of  the 
question  as  regulated  competition  versus  regulated  monopoly 
correspond  with  the  problem. 

Concentration  the  Result  of  Progress 

It  is  generally  agreed,  that  concentration  of  industry  up  to 
a  certain  point  is  necessary  in  order  to  give  efficiency.  It  would 
not  be  held  by  anyone,  I  imagine,  that  we  should  return  to  the 
situation  of  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  in  which  industry  was 
minutely  subdivided,  in  which  there  were  few  organizations  of 
large  size,  but  many  minor  organizations  scattered  all  over  the 
country.  Do  you  believe, — do  any  of  you  believe  that  we  shall 
ever  return  from  the  great  flour  mill  to  the  cross-roads  grist 
mill?  It  is  impossible.  This  illustration  and  many  others  which 
could  be  mentioned  show  that  some  degree  of  concentration  is 
allowable.  The  practical  question  is:  what  degree  of  concentra- 
tion is  permissible  and  advantageous,  not  only  for  economy  in 
production,  but  for  the  advantage  of  the  people  at  large?  It  is 
therefore  clear  that  it  does  not  meet  the  question  which  con- 
fronts us  in  regard  to  the  so-called  trusts  to  assume  that  all  of 
the  concentrations  of  industry  are  monopolies.  If  we  can  make 
that  assumption  and  place  it  as  the  foundation  stone  of  our 
argument,  it  is  easy  to  win  approval  of  the  idea  of  regulated 
competition. 

The  Laws  Relating  to  Big  Business 

Monopoly  has  never  been  recognized  in  this  country  by 
common  law,  nor  by  statute  law ;  neither  has  it  ever  been  so 
recognized  in  England.  Co-operation  in  industry  both  by  com- 
bination and  by  contracts  has  been  recognized  by  the  laws  of 
both  countries.  The  distinction  is  fundamental.  In  England  in 
the  middle  ages  both  common  and  statute  laws  were  very 
stringent  against  combinations  and  contracts  in  restraint  of 
trade.  But  Parliament  more  than  sixty  years  ago  wiped  out  all 
the  statutes  against  such  combinations  and  contracts,  provided 
they  were  not  monopolies,  contrary  to  public  policy,  or  immoral. 
Also,  in  this  country,  in  colonial  days,  the  laws  were  very 
strict  against  combinations  and  contracts  in  restraint  of  trade. 
But  here,  also,  there  was  a  gradual  amelioration  of  the  laws  until 
co-operation  was  permitted,  along  many  lines,  including  division 
of  territory,  limitation  of  output,  and  even  fixing  of  prices ;  pro- 


BIG  BUSINESS  393 

vided,  always,  that  as  a  result  of  the  co-operation  the  combina- 
tions or  contracts  did  not  result  in  monopoly  or  were  not  gen- 
eral, were  not  immoral,  and  were  not  contrary  to  public  policy. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  laws  in  regard  to  combinations  and 
contracts  in  restraint  of  trade  went  thru  a  similar  evolution  both 
in  this  country  and  in  England,  and  that  the  laws  finally  became 
very  liberal.  In  other  countries  than  England  and  America,  the 
laws  in  regard  to  co-operation  are  also  liberal.  By  gradual 
development  the  principle  has  been  reached  for  most  civilized 
nations  that  freedom  in  trade  means  freedom  to  combine  as  well 
as  freedom  to  compete.  This  was  the  situation  in  this  country 
also  when  in  1890  the  Sherman  law  was  enacted,  and  immediately 
the  wheels,  so  far  as  co-operation  was  concerned,  were  turned 
back  to  the  conditions  of  the  middle  ages.  All  combinations 
and  contracts  in  restraint  of  trade  were  prohibited,  and  this 
applied  to  the  latter  even  if  limited  in  extent  or  confined  in  time. 
This  national  legislation  led  to  an  influenza  of  similar  legislation 
in  the  states  and,  within  a  few  years,  more  than  thirty  states  had 
passed  statutes  against  combinations  and  contracts  in  restraint 
of  trade,  many  of  them  even  more  drastic  than  the  Sherman  law. 

The  question  now  arises:  what  were  the  results  of  these 
statutes?  The  Sherman  act  contained  two  separate  provisions, 
one  of  which  prohibits  every  contract  and  combination  in  the 
form  of  trust  or  otherwise  in  restraint  of  trade  as  illegal ;  another 
section  provides  that  monopoly  or  attempt  to  monopolize  is  also 
illegal. 

By  the  public  it  was  supposed  that  every  contract  and 
combination  in  restraint  of  trade  meant  what  the  words  said, 
and  that  congress  in  using  these  words  meant  to  pass  a  new  and 
drastic  law  replacing  the  common  law;  indeed  the  earlier  de- 
cisions of  the  supreme  court  took  this  point  of  view  and  held 
that  the  reasonableness  or  unreasonableness  of  a  contract  or 
combination  was  immaterial.  However,  in  the  Standard  Oil  and 
Tobacco  cases  the  court  took  an  entirely  new  attitude  and 
stated  that  only  restraint  of  trade  which  was  undue  was  meant 
to  be  covered  by  the  law  (altho  the  word  "undue"  is  nowhere 
in  the  act),  that  the  restraint  meant  was  that  which  was  not 
permitted  under  the  common  law ;  and,  therefore,  that  only  con- 
tracts or  combinations  were  prohibited  by  the  law  which  were 
unreasonably  in  restraint  of  trade. 


394  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Why  was  this  change  in  front  made?  Well,  of  course,  I  do 
not  know ;  but  it  is  a  fair  conclusion  that  the  investigations  of 
the  supreme  court  led  them  to  the  view  that  if  the  Sherman  act 
were  enforced  in  accordance  with  its  terms  prohibiting  all  con- 
tracts and  combinations  in  restraint  of  trade,  this  would  create 
an  impossible  situation.  Therefore,  they  inserted  the  words 
"undue"  or  "unreasonable"  into  the  law,  so  as  to  make  it  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  accordance  with  common  law;  and  thus 
started  a  second  cycle  of  development  by  judicial  decision  in 
order  to  make  it  approach,  as  nearly  as  possible,  to  the  common 
law  which  existed  before  the  act  was  passed.  One  cycle  of  evolu- 
tion in  regard  to  this  matter  had  been  sufficient  in  Germany, 
sufficient  in  England  and  other  countries.  America  is  the  only 
civilized  nation  which  must  go  thru  this  development  twice. 

While  these  recent  decisions  of  the  court  do  not  go  far  enough, 
they  clearly  point  the  way  to  a  ground  intermediate  between 
"regulation  of  monopoly  or  regulation  of  competition,"  and  this 
is:  Freedom  of  competition,  prohibition  of  monopoly,  permis- 
sion to  co-operate,  and  regulation  of  co-operation.  As  already 
noticed,  if  it  can  be  assumed  that  the  above  phrase  contains  all 
of  the  possible  alternatives,  it  is  easy  to  reach  a  conclusion.  We 
must  not  have  monopoly  and  therefore  we  are  driven  to  the 
other  conclusion, — regulation  of  competition ;  but  since  the 
.assumption  is  fallacious,  the  conclusion  has  no  foundation. 

The  Existing  Situation 

What  is  the  situation  with  which  we  are  confronted.  The 
Sherman  law  and  the  state  anti-trust  laws  are  upon  the  statute 
"books.  We  have  gone  through  one  stage  of  development,  have 
made  the  first  step  in  the  second  stage.  It  is  now  proposed  to 
neutralize  the  decisions  of  the  court  by  defining  "reasonable" 
so  that  it  shall  mean  prohibition  of  all  contracts  and  combinations 
in  restraint  of  trade,  and  thus  succeed  in  getting  statute  law 
back  to  where  Senator  Sherman  and  the  people  thought  they 
had  gotten  it  twenty  years  ago  through  the  enactment  by  Congress 
of  the  Sherman  act.  This  would  compel  the  beginning  of  an- 
other third  cycle  of  development. 

This  solution  of  the  problem  of  combination  makes  me 
think  of  the  philosopher,  Harold  Udgardin,  by  name,  an  Esqui- 
mau who  lives  up  on  Hudson  Bay.  "Harold  has  one  trap  now 
set  in  the  same  place  where  it  has  been  for  twenty  years ;  he  has 


BIG  BUSINESS  395 

not  yet  caught  a  fox  in  it,  but  he  will  not  consider  changing  its 
location,  as  it  is  a  good  place,  he  reasons,  and  ought  to  catch  a 
fox.  "It  preys  on  his  mind  if  he  doesn't  visit  and  trim  this  fox 
trap  regularly,  and  he  has  been  known  to  get  up  and  go  out  in 
the  night  to  bait  it  when  he  was  especially  negligent." 

Notwithstanding  that  the  trap  of  the  Sherman  act  has  never 
caught  a  fox  for  twenty  years,  and  only  smells  in  one  or  two 
places  of  a  tail  or  a  leg,  it  is  proposed  to  strengthen  its  "springs" 
and  sharpen  its  "teeth"  with  the  expectation  that  it  will  then 
catch  a  sufficient  number  of  foxes  to  become  the  solution  of  the 
great,  fundamental  problem  of  concentration  of  industry. 

In  regard  to  the  Sherman  act,  it  has  been  assumed  that  its 
only  violators  are  the  great  combinations.  This  assumption  is 
made  in  practically  all  discussion  of  the  question.  The  Steel 
Trust,  the  Tobacco  Trust,  and  a  few  other  large  combinations 
are  mentioned;  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  small  business  men 
and  the  small  producers  are  not  acting  in  violation  of  the  law. 
But  the  principle  of  co-operation  which  the  Sherman  act  tries 
to  suppress  extends  from  the  great  industrial  centers,  like  Phila- 
delphia to  the  country  cross-roads.  Does  it  make  any  difference 
here  in  Philadelphia,  the  home  of  anthracite,  whether  one  buys 
anthracite  of  one  retail  dealer  or  another?  It  doesn't  make  any 
difference  in  the  country  cross-roads  either.  The  price  is  just 
the  same  from  all  the  dealers  in  the  same  locality.  The  same  is 
true  of  ice,  the  antithesis  of  anthracite,  and  is  also  true  of  all 
standard  articles.  The  principle  of  co-operation  has  extended 
from  the  great  manufacturers  and  the  great  dealers  of  the  large 
cities  to  the  small  manufacturers  and  small  dealers  of  the  small 
cities  and  even  villages.  All  are  co-operating  in  exactly  the  same 
way;  the  principle  is  the  same  for  the  large  and  small  men,  one 
is  violating  the  law  just  as  certainly  as  is  the  other.  I  am  willing 
to  stand  for  enforcement  of  law  when  the  law  is  enforced  alike 
for  all;  but  when  somebody  is  picked  out  because  he  is  in  the 
front  seat,  or  because  it  is  good  politics  to  attack  him  and 
ninety-nine  or  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  are  allowed  to  escape 
I  say  that  it  is  a  profoundly  immoral  situation.  And  that  is 
exactly  the  existing  situation  in  this  country.  The  politician 
who  says  "Break  up  these  trusts;  destroy  them,"  says  with  the 
very  same  breath,  "We  must  have  co-operation  among  the 
farmers." 


396  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

Why,  gentlemen,  the  cranberry  growers  of  Cape  Cod,  New 
Jersey,  and  Wisconsin,  sell  about  90  per  cent  of  their  products 
through  an  agency  down  in  Hudson  Street,  New  York.  Similarly, 
many  products  of  the  farmers,  illustrated  by  cotton,  citrous  fruits, 
etc.,  are  marketed  thru  co-operative  selling  agencies.  Have  we 
heard  of  the  Attorney-General  prosecuting  these  farmers?  Con- 
gress understands  the  situation  and  at  their  two  recent  sessions 
they  attached  to  the  sundry  civil  bill  a  clause  containing  an 
appropriation  of  $300,000  for  the  enforcement  of  the  antitrust 
laws,  which  included  the  provision  that  none  of  this  money 
should  be  spent  in  prosecuting  combinations  or  agreements  of 
labor,  nor  spent  "for  the  prosecution  of  producers  of  farm  pro- 
ducts and  associations  of  farmers  who  co-operate  and  organize 
in  an  effort  to  and  for  the  purpose  to  obtain  and  maintain  a 
fair  and  reasonable  price  for  their  products."  The  purpose  of 
this  provision  is  clearly  to  make  the  Sherman  law  class  legisla- 
tion by  indirection  and,  in  effect,  to  prevent  equality  before  the 
law  of  the  manufacturer  as  compared  with  the  farmer.  Also,  some 
of  the  smarter  state  legislatures  have  seen  the  situation,  and  in 
order  to  prevent  the  farmers  from  being  hit  by  their  antitrust 
bills  exempted  the  products  of  the  lands  so  long  as  in  the  hands 
of  the  producers.  This  was  true  for  Texas,  Louisiana,  Illinois 
and  South  Dakota.  You  see  the  state  legislature,  like  congress, 
saw  that  the  farmers  have  so  many  votes  that  they  have  to  be 
dealt  with  gently  when  they  form  a  trust. 

But  some  of  the  state  laws  got  into  the  United  States  courts, 
and  these  courts  promptly  declared  these  exemptions  unconstitu- 
tional as  being  special  legislation,  and  not  giving  equal  protec- 
tion under  the  laws.  I  venture  to  predict  that  it  will  not  be  so 
popular  a  political  game  to  shout,  "Bust  the  trusts"  when  the 
farmers  understand  that  their  trusts  are  also  to  be  "busted." 

No  more  pernicious  or  immoral  legislation  was  ever  passed 
by  Congress  or  by  the1  states.  Fortunately  Ex-President  Taft 
and  President  Wilson  have  both  protested  against  the  pernicious 
action  of  Congress.  The  principles  of  justice  in  regard  to  trusts 
and  combinations  are  alike  for  the  manufacturers,  the  farmers, 
and  the  laborers. 

In  this  country  we  have  not  a  special  situation  which  con- 
cerns a  few  men,  but  a  general,  irresistible  impulse.  It  is  all  very 
well  to  ask,  "Has  the  time  come  when  a  few  rich  men  shall  defy 


BIG  BUSINESS  397 

the  law?"  but  Edmund  Burke  said  more  than  a  century  ago,  "I 
do  not  know  the  method  of  drawing-  up  an  indictment  against 
a  whole  people."  And  that  is  the  situation  which  we  have  in 
this  nation  as  regards  combination.  There  is  just  as  close-riveted 
an  arrangement  between  the  three  icemen  in  the  country  town 
as  there  is  in  steel ;  and  any  solution  of  the  problem  of  combina- 
tion, if  it  be  a  just  solution,  must  be  applied  not  only  to  steel, 
tobacco,  etc.,  but  to  the  small  tradesmen  and  the  farmer.  Just 
as  certainly  as  the  great  combinations  are  violating  the  Sherman 
act,  as  I  have  no  doubt  many  of  them  are,  so  are  the  small  aggre- 
gations of  wealth  violating  state  antitrust  statutes.  This  general 
violation  of  the  trust  laws,  national  and  state,  is  the  problem  that 
we  have  before  us. 

The  Breakdown  of  Competition 

The  late  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Wicker- 
sham,  said,  if  we  can  only  break  up  each  of  the  great  combina- 
tions into  six,  or  eight,  or  ten  parts,  these  different  parts  will  com- 
pete ;  that  the  tendency  to  competition  under  such  circumstances 
is  irresistible.  But  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  the  tendency  for  co- 
operation in  this  Twentieth  Century  is  so  much  stronger  than 
the  tendency  for  competition,  that  you  will  never  restore  the 
latter  in  the  old  sense.  There  will  be  competition  between  differ- 
ent classes  of  goods ;  there  will  be  competition  between  the  great 
mail  order  house  and  the  village  grocer ;  there  will  be  compe- 
tition in  service;  and  I  am  just  as  anxious  as  anyone  to  have 
trade  regulated  by  competition  as  far  as  possible;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  competition  has  broken  down  hopelessly  in  this 
country  to  adequately  control  prices ;  to  adequately  control 
quality;  and  we  all  know  it.  Why,  gentlemen,  it  is  the  theory 
regarding  competition  that  it  will  regulate  prices,  and  quality; 
that  it  will  give  us  reasonable  prices  and  superior  quality.  That 
is  a  beautiful  theory ;  but  if  this  theory  has  ever  corresponded  to 
the  facts  in  the  past  (and  this  I  doubt)  we  may  be  sure  that  in 
the  future  it  will  never  again  do  so. 

We  have  recognized  the  failure  of  competition  to  secure 
quality,  by  the  establishment  of  the  pure  food  laws.  Why  should 
we  have  pure  food  laws  if  competition  will  give  us  good  quality? 
If  articles  were  fraudulently  sold,  so  important  to  the  general 
welfare  as  foods,  there  was  a  remedy  in  the  courts.  If  I  were 
sold  a  thing  as  pure  strained  honey,  that  was  wholly  innocent  of 


398  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

having  any  relation  whatever  with  a, bee,  I  had  a  remedy  in  law; 
I  had  been  fraudulently  dealt  with.  Why  didn't  I  take  my  case  to 
the  courts?  You  know  why.  The  loss  was  so  small  that  it  was 
impracticable  for  the  individual  to  thus  obtain  redress.  Finally, 
recognizing  the  fact  that  competition  was  wholly  inadequate  to 
secure  pure  food,  national  and  state  pure  food  laws  were  enacted 
and  special  officers  were  designated  upon  whom  was  imposed  the 
duty  of  protecting  the  public.  When  we  confessed  that  competi- 
tion did  not  regulate  quality,  and  imposed  the  duty  of  protecting 
the  public  upon  administrative  officers,  we  succeeded  in  getting 
pure  food,  or  a  reasonable  proportion  of  pure  food,  at  least,  and 
never  until  then. 

The  situation  is  further  illustrated  by  clothing.  Shoddy  is 
frequently  sold  as  woolen.  Why?  To  do  so  is  fraud,  and  the 
aggrieved  party  may  get  redress  in  court  under  the  theory  of 
the  law;  but  uf  course  he  never  does  for  the  loss  is  too  small 
for  the  individual  to  go  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of  redress 
which  would  be  far  greater  than  the  loss.  But  if  we  had  admin- 
istrative officers  whose  duty  it  is  to  protect  the  public  at  public 
expense  for  textiles,  shoddy  would  not  be  sold  as  woolen  because 
the  risk  would  be  too  great. 

Magnitude  and  Efficiency 

Now,  why  is  it  that  competition  to  regulate  prices  has 
broken  down?  Because  of  the  simply  enormous  advantages 
which  come  with  co-operation.  One  of  these  has  been  mentioned, 
— the  economic  gains  of  magnitude.  In  this  matter  there  are  na 
differences  of  opinion  up  to  a  certain  magnitude.  We  all  agree 
that  the  nation  will  not  return  to  the  country  grist  mill ;  but  this 
does  not  settle  the  question  regarding  the  magnitude  that  is  per- 
missible. Those  who  are  attacking  the  combinations  assert  that 
a  great  many  of  the  large  industrial  organizations  have  exceeded 
the  magnitude  which  gives  the  highest  efficiency.  I  may  assert 
upon  the  other  hand  that  very  few  of  them  have  gone  beyond 
the  stage  which  gives  increased  efficiency.  Neither  side  can 
prove  his  case  because  of  lack  of  facts. 

I  have  looked  through  the  books,  and  I  have  had  experts 
examine  the  literature  of  concentration,  to  find  if  investigations 
had  been  made  which  would  give  facts  upon  which  to  base  a 
judgment  regarding  the  relation  of  efficiency  and  magnitude. 
The  only  such  investigation  of  which  I  find  record  is  that  of 


BIG  BUSINESS  399 

Herbert  Knox  Smith  in  regard  to  the  steel  industry.  The  late 
Commission  of  Corporations,  as  the  result  of  an  elaborate  inquiry, 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  large  concentrations  in  the  manu- 
facture of  steel  are  very  much  more  efficient  than  the  small  ones, 
and  for  certain  products  he  gave  the  amount  per  ton.  He  stated 
that  the  five  great  combinations — United  States  Steel,  Lacka- 
wanna,  Cambria,  Jones-Laughlin,  Republic — have  an  advantage 
for  pig  iron  and  steel  billets  from  $2.50  to  over  $5.00  per  ton  as 
compared  with  the  smaller  organizations. 

Thus,  for  iron  and  steel  it  has  been  proved  that  a  hundred- 
million-dollar  combination  is  economically  more  efficient  than  a 
ten-million-dollar  combination.  It  has  not  been  proved  that  a 
thousand-million-dollar  combination  is  more  efficient  than  a 
hundred-million-dollar  combination ;  no  investigation  has  been 
made  to  determine  this  point.  It  may  be  asserted  that  the 
United  States  Steel  Corporation  is  not  more  efficient  than  its 
four  strong  competitors,  and  I  may  assert  the  contrary ;  and  we 
are  exactly  where  we  were  before,  because'  we  don't  know  the 
facts.  The  question  is  one  for  scientific  investigation,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  National  Bureau  of  Corporations  will  do  the 
work.  Similar  investigations  should  be  made  for  other  lines  of 
industry  than  steel,  so  that  we  may  have  a  scientific  foundation 
upon  which  to  decide  how  far  we  shall  permit  magnitude. 

One  of  the  specific  points  which  have  been  raised  in  regard 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  large  steel  corporations  is  the  more  fre- 
quent failure  of  rails  in  this  country.  It  has  been  argued  that 
this  is  due  to  their  poorer  quality  because  of  the  inefficiency  of 
the  large  corporations,  and  especially  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation.  In  this  connection,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
there  is  no  other  country  in  the  world  in  which  the  speed  of  the 
traffic,  the  weight  of  the  train  and  engine,  in  freight  and  pas- 
senger service,  approach  those  in  this  country.  Also  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  very  rails  manufactured  in  Germany  and 
England,  which  are  alleged  to  be  so  excellent,  are  produced  by 
great  trusts  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term  has  been  used  here 
tonight.  The  German  steel  combine  has  control  of  a  larger  per- 
centage of  the  iron  product  of  Germany  than  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation  has  for  the  United  States.  However,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  German  steel  combine  gives  greater  freedom  to 
the  individual  plant — that  it  is  a  federation  rather  than  a  con- 


4oo  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

solidation.  The  same  thing  would  have  been  true'  in  this  country 
had  it  not  been  for  the  Sherman  Act.  Men  who  build  up  a  busi- 
ness dislike  to  surrender  its  management  to  someone  else.  Affili- 
ation of  the  different  companies  in  the  same  business  was  de- 
veloping in  this  country  in  the  same  way  as  in  England  and 
Germany,  on  the  principle  of  co-operation.  Then  the  trust  was 
declared  to  be  unlawful,  and  so  arose  the  holding  corporation ; 
and  now,  again  driven  by  law,  the  holding  corporation  is  passing 
to  complete  merger. 

The  Forces  Which  Produced  Combination 

This  brings  us  to  the  next  point  of  the  discussion, — the 
forces  which  have  led  to  combination  in  this  country.  One  of 
these  is  directly  related  to  what  has  just  been  said.  Each  step 
from  the  loose  association  to  complete  merger  was  taken  to 
escape  the  last  decision  of  the  court  because'  of  the  irresistible 
tendency  for  co-operation.  Germany  and  England  are  vastly 
more  fortunate  than  we  are  in  this  respect,  in  that,  permitting 
reasonable  co-operation,  they  have  allowed  firms  to  co-operate 
without  driving  them  to  consolidation.  The  units  of  the  various 
cartels  and  combinations  in  these  countries  have  therefore  sur- 
rendered their  autonomy  to  a  less  extent  than  the  elements  of 
the  combinations  in  this  country. 

Other  forces  which  have  led  to  combination  are  the  desire 
to  eliminate  or  at  least  restrict  competition,  the  desire  to  limit 
output  and  divide  territory, — and  in  connection  with  these  the 
maintenance  of  prices.  These  forces  may  be  legitimate  or  illegiti- 
mate, depending  upon  the  extent  to  which  they  are  carried.  An- 
other force  strongly  influential  in  producing  concentration  has 
been  the  profit  of  promoters.  Regarding  the  legitimacy  of  this 
force  there  may  be  great  doubt  in  many  cases.  Limited  time, 
while  permitting  the  enumeration  of  these  forces,  prohibits  their 
adequate  discussion ;  therefore  I  shall  pass  on  to  the  advantage's 
which  result  from  co-operation,  arid  especially  with  relation  to 
the  natural  resources. 

The  Relations  of  Co-operation  and  Conservation 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  competitive  system,  when 
unrestrained,  is  positively  opposed  to  the  policy  of  conservation. 
This  is  true  alike  for  minerals  and  timber,  but  tonight  I  can  only 
consider  the  first  aspect  of  the  subject. 


BIG  BUSINESS  401 

The  minerals  of  the  earth,  and  here  are  included  not  only 
the  metallic  minerals  but  the  carbon  compounds,  required  the 
building  of  the  earth  for  their  making.  Mineral  deposits  are 
doubtless  in  the  process  of  manufacture  at  the  present  time ;  but 
even  if  so,  this  is  at  so  slow  a  rate  as  to  be  negligible.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  mankind,  the  stores  of  minerals  in  the  earth  are 
deposits  of  definite  magnitude  upon  which  we  may  draw  but 
once  and  which  by  no  possibility  can  be  increased.  To  illustrate, 
with  regard  to  the  banks  of  coal,  the  situation  in  regard  to  this 
subsurface  produce  of  first  importance  for  the  human  race  is 
similar  to  that  of  a  man  who  has  a  deposit  in  a  bank  upon  which 
he  may  draw,  but  can  not  by  any  possibility  increase  by  a  single 
dollar.  He  is  obliged  to  make  his  existing  bank  account  last 
thruout  his  life.  Similarly  the  mineral  resources  of  the  earth 
must  last  thruout  the  life  of  humanity. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  recognized  that  modern 
civilization  would  not  be  possible  without  the  mineral  resources 
of  the  earth, — no  iron  ships,  no  metal  agricultural  implements, 
no  tools  except  those  of  stone,  no  fuel  but  wood.  Without  the 
subsurface  products  of  the  earth  we  would  at  once  return  to  the 
material  conditions  of  the  stone  age. 

It  is  therefore  incontrovertible  that,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  human  race,  economic  systems  or  laws  which  result  in 
unnecessarily  rapid  use  of  the  mineral  stores  of  the  earth  aff 
indefensible;  but  such  are  the  economic  theories  and  laws  now 
dominant  in  the  United  States.  The  wastefulness  of  the  com- 
petitive system  may  be  proved  with  regard  to  every  product 
which  is  taken  from  the  earth.  In  a  single  address  this  cannot 
be  done,  but  I  shall  mention  two  or  three  substances  which 
illustrate  the  truth  of  the  above  positions. 

Lead  and  Zinc 

Lead  and  zinc  in  Wisconsin  and  Missouri  are  mined  on  a 
small  scale  under  an  extreme  competitive  system.  The  losses  of 
these  metals  in  their  mining  and  metallurgy  are  nothing  short 
of  appalling.  In  southeastern  Missouri,  according  to  the  late 
Dr.  Buckley,  former  geologist  of  the  state,  not  less  than  fifteen 
per  cent  of  the  metal  is  left  underground;  the  losses  in  concen- 
tration approach  fifteen  per  cent;  the  loss  in  smelting  and  con- 
centration frequently  amounts  to  fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent,  thus 
making  a  total  loss  of  from  forty-five  to  fifty  per  cent;  in  other 


402  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

words,  only  a  little  more  than  one-half  of  the  lead  of  the  deposits 
reaches  the  market.  In  southeastern  Wisconsin,  State  Geologist 
Hotchkiss  reports  that  the  total  loss  of  the  original  zinc  in  the 
mines  amounts  to  forty-eight  per  cent.  Again  we  have  a  re- 
covery of  a  little  more  than  fifty  per  cent. 

These  great  losses  are  due  to  the  system  of  very  numerous 
small  holdings  combined  with  the  competitive  system.  High 
royalties  on  the  part  of  the  small  feeholder  are  demanded  of  the 
operator.  The  operators  desire  to  get  large  returns  at  the  earliest 
practicable  moment  upon  this  small  investment.  In  consequence 
ore  is  left  in  the  ground  that  should  be  mined ;  unnecessary  losses 
take  place  in  concentration,  also  unnecessary  losses  occur  in 
smelting. 

Iron 

The  lead  and  zinc  of  Missouri  and  Wisconsin  illustrate  the 
situation  for  metals,  where  there  is  great  subdivision  in  owner- 
ship and  operation,  and  thus  the  extreme  of  the  competitive 
system.  In  contrast  with  this  situation,  may  fee  mentioned  the 
Lake  Superior  iron  mines.  In  the  early  days  of  iron  ore  mining 
in  this  region  the  holdings  were  relatively  small.  Under  these 
circumstances,  according  to  Professor  C.  K.  Leith,  the  losses  of 
mining  were  commonly  from  35  to  40  per  cent  of  the  ore.  These 
losses  were  due  to  mining  the  higher  grades  in  order  to  get  the 
largest  immediate  profit,  and  also  in  part  to  faulty  mining.  In 
recent  years  there  has  been  a  steady  tendency  to  concentration 
of  ownership  of  the  iron  ores,  and  at  the  present  time  the  greater 
part  of  the  ores  are  owned  by  large  corporations  able  to  hold 
them  until  such  time  as  they  can  be  economically  used.  A  num- 
ber of  these  larger  corporations  own  smelting  plants  and  are 
holding  their,  ore  reserves  for  the  use  of  their  own  plants. 
They,  therefore,  have  every  motive  for  efficiency  in  mining  and 
economy  in  handling.  Under  present  conditions,  Dr.  Leith  says- 
the  losses  in  mining  iron  ore  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  are 
usually  under  twenty  per  cent,  and  ten  per  cent  is  perhaps  a 
fair  average. 

With  relative  concentration  of  ownership  of  iron  ore  in  the 
Lake  Superior  region,  as  contrasted  with  subdivision  of  owner- 
ship in  the  years  gone  by,  there  has  been  great  gains  in  conserva- 
tion. 


BIG  BUSINESS  403 

Coal 

But  the  most  disastrous  losses  in  the  mining  industry,  so  far 
as  the  future  of  the  human  race  is  concerned,  are  in  connection 
with  coal.  Holmes  *  presents  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  ruinous 
wastes  of  coail  in  the  past,  due  to  the  unrestrained  competitive 
system.  He  states  that  in  the  early  days  of  mining,  when  there 
was  much  subdivision  of  ownership  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty 
per  cent,  of  the  anthracite  coal  of  the  veins  mined  was  brought  to 
the  surface,  leaving  from  sixty  to  seventy  per  cent,  in  the  ground. 
The  Colliery  Engineer  says  that  with  the  concentration  of  owner- 
ship of  recent  years  these  losses  have  been  greatly  reduced.  Ac- 
cording to  this  Journal,  thru  the  use  of  large  capital  for  develop- 
ment work,  and  in  providing  machinery,  the  operators  "are  con- 
serving the  valuable  anthracite  deposits  by  extracting  from  the 
ground  and  making  available  for  use,  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
per  cent,  more  of  the  coal  in  a  given  area  than  was  extracted  forty 
or  even  thirty  years  ago."  Seams  are  being  mined  "that  even 
twenty  years  ago  were  considered  too  small  to  be  profitably  work- 
ed." 

The  situation  for  bituminous  coal  is  somewhat  similar  to  that 
for  anthracite.  Until  recently  the  losses  for  such  coal  were  sub- 
stantially hailf.  While  these  los'ses  have  been  somewhat  reduc- 
ed, it  is  still  true  that  in  some  fields  not  more  than  from  fifty 
to  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  coal  of  the  mines  is  being  taken  from  the 
ground.  In  the  bituminous  industry  the  situation  is  that  of  the 
extreme  competitive  system;  and  so  long  as  this  situation  prevails 
it  cannot  be  expected  that  efficient  and  economic  mining  will  be 
secured.  Holmes  estimates  that  since  the  beginning  of  mining  in 
the  United  States,  "twoi  billion  tons  of  anthracite  and  three 
bil'lions  tons  of  bituminous  coal  have  been  left  under  ground  in 
such  condition  as  to  make  its  future  recovery  doubtful  or  im- 
possible." The  principles  which  from  the  point  of  view  of  con- 
servation should  apply  to  mining  of  coal  are  well  known.  So 
far  as  practicable  the  manes  should  be  so  worked  as  to  make  onfe 
superimposed  vein  after  the  other  available.  Coal)  slack  should 
be  reduced  in  amount  and  should  be  utilized.  No  considerable 

Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  the  United  States,  Van  Rise,  pp. 
80-82.  Report  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Conservation  Commission,  pp.  32-38. 

*"Carbon  Wastes,"  J.  A.  Holmes,  "Mineral  Wastes  Symposium,"  The 
Journal  of  Industrial  and  Engineering  Chemistry,  March,  1912. 


PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 
404 

percentage  of  coal  should  be  left  in  the  ground  as  pillars.  If 
these  reforms  were  introduced,  the  losses  could  be  reduced  to  half 
the  present  amounts  and  possibly  to  one-fourth. 

But  to  ask  that  any  such  proposals  should  be  put  into  opera- 
tion under  the  restrained  competitive  system  is  purely  chimerical. 
Under  the  Sherman  law  there  is  no  opportunity  to  limit  output, 
divide  territory,  or  regulate  prices.  Five  thousand  bituminous 
coal  operators  could  produce  two  hundred  million  tons  of  coal 
per  annum  beyond  present  demands.  If  the  operators  could 
agree  upon  limitation  of  output,  and  division  of  market  so  as  to 
reduce  freights,  and  could  arrange  for  reasonable  prices  which 
would  give  them  no  more  than  their  present  profits,  they  would 
then  be  able  to  follow  these  principles  in  mining  their  coal;  for 
they  themselves  would  be  gainers  in  prolonging  the  life  of  their 
mines,  and,  far  more  important,  many  future  generations  would 
be  the  immeasurable  gainers  in  that  they  would  have  adequate 
coal  supply. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  plan  proposed  would  result  in 
somewhat  higher  prices  for  bituminous  coal ;  but,  even  so,  coal 
would  be  cheaper  in  this  country  than  in  others.  This  slight 
additional  increment,  however,  would  be  but  a  small  social 
burden  for  this  generation  to  bear  in  order  to  leave  an  adequate 
heritage  to  future  generations.  Under  the  competitive  system, 
we  are  recklessly  skimming  the  cream  of  the  natural  resources 
of  a  virgin  continent  with  no  regard  for  the  rights  of  our  chil- 
dren or  our  children's  children.  They  will  have  a  heavy  score 
against  us  if  we  continue  to  ignore  the  future  and  to  apply  the 
unrestrained  competitive  system  in  total  disregard  of  their  rights. 

Corrective  Measures 

In  the  time  that  remains  to  me  I  shall  proceed  to  the  con- 
structive side  of  the  question  before  us  and  make  positive  pro- 
posals in  regard  to  the  things  which  should  be  done  in  order  that 
we  may  obtain  the  advantages  of  concentration  of  business  and 
at  the  same  time  protect  the  public.  My  proposal,  gentlemen,  is 
neither  regulated  competition,  nor  regulated  monopoly,  but  re- 
tention of  competition,  prohibition  of  monopoly,  permission  for 
co-operation,  and  regulation  of  the  latter. 

It  has  been  proposed  that  combinations  should  be  so  divided 
that  no  one  corporation  shall  have  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of 
any  business.  That  is  Mr.  Bryan's  suggestion.  In  the  case  of  the 


BIG  BUSINESS  405 

Stanley  bill  the  presumption  of  the  violation  of  the  Sherman  law 
is  against  a  corporation  having  more  than  thirty  per  cent. 

Now,  it  makes  no  difference,  gentlemen,  whether  you  break 
the  great  combinations  up  so  that  no  one  combination  has  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  or  thirty  per  cent  of  a  line  of  business,  or  so 
that  there  are  ten  with  ten  per  cent,  or  twenty  with  five  per  cent. 
The  demonstration  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  already  mentioned  that 
thousands  of  farmers  may  and  do  co-operate  in  marketing  their 
products  just  as  perfectly  as  do  the  five  great  manufacturers  .of 
steel.  This  they  do  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States  for 
numerous  products.  At  the  present  time  there  are  state  and 
national  movements  to  still  farther  extend  the  advantages  oi 
co-operation  to  the  farmers.  Since  it  is  unquestionable  that  the 
sense  of  justice  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  will  support 
the  courts  in  prohibiting  class  legislation,  we  shall,  therefore, 
I  believe,  ultimately  permit  co-operation  in  all  lines  of  business 
alike.  If  we,  however,  retain  freedom  of  competition,  permit  con- 
centration sufficient  to  give  efficiency,  allow  reasonable  co-oper- 
ation, and  prevent  monopoly,  this  will  require  regulation  just  as 
it  has  been  necessary  to  regulate  the  railroads.  This  done,  the 
Sherman  law  will  be  forgotten.  Has  there  been  any  prosecution 
of  the  railroads  for  violations  of  the  Sherman  law  because  of 
collusion  in  fixing  rates?  And  yet,  everyone  of  us  here  knows 
that  they  are  just  as  flagrant  violators  of  the  Sherman  Act  as  any 
other  class  of  corporations  in  the  United  States.  Are  the  freight 
rates  the  same  for  different  roads  between  any  two  points  ?  Are 
the  passenger  rates  between  Philadelphia  and  Chicago  identical 
on  all  roads?  Can  you  do  better  in  price  by  travelling  over  the 
Pennsylvania  than  over  any  other  road?  The  rate  is  the  same, 
providing  the  speed  is  the  same.  How  does  it  happen  that  the 
roads  all  got  together?  Just  by  Providence,  I  suppose.  It  was 
doubtless  by  a  Providential  act  that  these  rates  were  fixed  identi- 
cally upon  all  the  roads,  under  the  same  conditions,  all  over  the 
country. 

Why  is  it  that  nobody  proposes  to  indict  the  railroads  for 
collusion?  Simply  for  the  reason  that  the  rates  which  they  can 
charge  are  controlled  by  commissions,  national  and  state.  No- 
body any  longer  wishes  to  make  them  further  trouble,  because 
the  public  is  protected  by  its  commissions.  That  is  the  sum  of 
the  whole  matter.  The  railroads  are  just  as  much  amenable  to 


4o6  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

attack  under  the  Sherman  Act  as  any  other  combination  in  the 
United  States;  but  when  the  railroads  are  giving  reasonable 
rates,  and  are  competing  in  giving  reasonable  service,  even  if 
the  law  is  on  the  statute  book  and  is  the  hallowed  thing  that  has 
been  described, — the  sense  of  official  justice  is  such  that  they 
are  not  attacked  in  the  courts.  Will  the  Attorney-General  of 
the  United  States  or  the  Attorney-General  of  this  or  any  other 
state  bring  suit  against  the  railroads  for  conspiracy  in  fixing 
rates  when  the  public  is  properly  protected?  -I  have  not  heard 
the  proposal  made  anywhere. 

However,  it  is  a  wrong  condition  when  we  have  on  the 
statute  books  a  law  of  a  kind  which  requires  the  officials  of 
justice  to  close  one  eye  whenever  they  pass  by  the  men  in  con- 
trol of  one  great  group  of  industries,  and  at  the  same  moment 
see  other  men  not  one  whit  more  guilty.  We  ought  to  remedy 
this  condition  so  that  honorable  business  men  shall  not  be  in  the 
position,  the  unfortunate  position,  of  being  technically  violators 
of  statutes  which  it  is  not  advantageous  from  the  public  point 
of  view  to  enforce. 

Trade  Commissions  Should  Be  Created 

I  have  not  time  to  more  than  touch  upon  necessary  modi- 
fications of  the  law;  but  the  substance  of  my  remedied  proposal 
is  that  there  be  an  interstate  trade  commission  and  state  trade 
commissions,  which  shall  have  substantially  the  same  powers  to 
regulate  co-operation  in  industry  that  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  and  the  State  Commerce  Commissions  have  in  regard 
to  the  public  utilities.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  Interstate  and 
State  Commerce  Commissions  and  the  administrative  bodies  for 
the  pure  food  laws  point  the  way  for  the  next  constructive  step 
in  the  development  of  the  laws.  It  would  perhaps  be  chimerical, 
with  public  opinion  as  at  present,  to  propose  the  repeal  of  the 
Sherman  Act;  but  the  situation  may  be  met  by  amendments  to 
this  law.  The  Sherman  Act  can  be  left  to  apply,  as  defined  by 
the  supreme  court,  to  monopoly.  Unreasonable  restraint  of  trade 
may  be  defined  as  monopolistic  restraint  of  trade,  and  it  is  rather 
generally  agreed  that  monopoly  should  be  prohibited.  To  make 
the  matter  perfectly  clear  another  amendment  should  allow  rea- 

*For  a  full  discussion  of  remedial  measures,  see  "Concentration  and  Con- 
trol; a  Solution  of  the  Trust  Problem  in  the  United  States,"  by  Charles  R. 
Van  Hise,  pp.  225-278. 


BIG  BUSINESS  407 

sonable  co-operation,  but  such  co-operation  should  be  under  the 
watchful  eyes  of  administrative  commissions  in  order  to  protect 
the  public. 

Powers  of  Commissions 

The  coal  operators  at  a  conference  held  in  Chicago  in  May, 
1912,  agreed  upon  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  an  interstate 
trade  commission.  The  important  power  proposed  for  such 
commission  was  the  authority  to  decide  whether  any  proposed 
arrangement  is  in  opposition  to  the  Sherman  Act  as  it  now  exists 
under  the  interpretation  of  the  courts.  If  any  arrangement  is 
approved  by  the  commission  as  in  accordance  with  law,  then  the 
organization  which  enters  into  such  an  arrangement  is  to  be 
free  from  prosecution  under  the  Sherman  Act.  Also  the  com- 
mission is  empowered  to  require  the  discontinuance  of  any  exist- 
ing trade  arrangement,  practice,  or  combination,  which  is  found 
to  be  in  violation  of  the  national  trust  law. 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  it  is  apparent  that  while 
the  above  proposal  is  a  move  in  the  right  direction  and  is  an 
improvement  upon  the  present  situation,  it  is  not  adequate.  The 
frightful  wastes  of  unrestrained  competition  as  applied  to  mineral 
products,  and  especially  as  applied  to  coal,  can  only  cease  when 
operators  are  permitted  to  co-operate  in  limiting  and  dividing 
the  market.  However,  if  they  are  permitted  thus  to  co-operate, 
there  is  danger  that  the  public  may  be  required  to  pay  unreason- 
able prices ;  and  therefore  any  such  co-operation  should  be  under 
the  watchful  eyes  of  commissions  that  should  have  power  to 
require  the  discontinuance  of  any  trade  arrangement  found 
inimical  to  the  public  welfare. 

Ultimately  also  it  will  probably  be  found  necessary  to  give 
the  commissions  the  same  authority  in  regulating  prices  that 
the  State  and  Interstate  Commerce  Commissions  have  in  regulat- 
ing rates  for  the  public  utilities.  The  burden  of  fixing  prices 
should  rest  with  the  operators ;  but  whenever  any  man  feels  that 
a  price  is  unreasonable,  he  should  have  the  right  to  have  his  case 
brought  before  a  commission  for  adjudication.  If,  after  investiga- 
tion, any  price  is  found  to  be  unreasonable,  the  commission  should 
have  authority  to  issue  an  order  that  it  be  made  reasonable. 

I  am  aware  that  the  above  suggestion  regarding  price 
regulation  has  been  vigorously  attacked ;  but  it  should  be  under- 


408  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

stood  that  the  proposal  does  not  involve  the  initiative  in  fixing 
prices.  Wherever  a  business  is  not  so  large  as  to  be  affected  by 
a  public  interest,  the  principles  of  trade  which  are  now  in  force 
would  hold  in  regard  to  prices;  and  this  statement  means  that 
the  great  majority  of  prices  would  be  controlled  by  the  present 
system,  as  imperfect  as  it  is.  However,  wherever  co-operation 
and  combination  are  permitted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to  a 
situation  where  the  market  is  controlled,  it  is  clear  that  the  pub- 
lic cannot  be  protected  under  these  conditions  unless  represented 
by  some  authority  having  power  to  protect  it,  even  to  the  extent 
of  regulating  prices. 

The  proposed  trade  commissions  should  have  a  number  of 
other  powers  which  I  have  not  time  fully  to  discuss.  It  is  clear 
that  all  unfair  practices  should  be  prohibited ;  and  by  unfair  prac- 
tices is  meant  to  include  everything  covered  by  the  term  immoral 
practices  under  the  common  law.  If  I  were  to  define  unfair 
practices,  it  would  be  that  they  should  include  all  those  practices 
of  every  kind  which  are  inimical  to  the  welfare  of  the  people. 

Another,  and  perhaps  the  most  vital,  point  of  the  law  creat- 
ing the  state  and  interstate  trade  commissions  should  be  that 
when  an  individual  is  wronged  through  unreasonable  rates,  or 
rebates  or  other  discrimination,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  a  pub- 
lic commission  to  handle  his  case.  The  aggrieved  individual 
should  not  be  obliged  to  carry  his  case  through  the  machinery 
of  the  courts ;  he  should  make  complaint  to  an  administrative 
commission,  representing  the  public,  and  him  as  a  part  of  the 
public,  to  secure  redress.  This,  while  the  greatest,  is  but  one  of 
the  many  advantages  which  may  be  gained  through  the  estab- 
lishment of  trade  commissions,  national  and  state.  The  powers 
of  the  commissions  should  be  granted  as  broad,  simple  rules  of 
law;  and  detailed  regulations  for  the  administration  of  these 
rules  should  be  formulated  by  the  commissions. 

If  the  views  which  are  here  presented  are  sound,  it  is  clear 
that  it  is  not  sufficient  simply  to  create  trade  commissions  who 
shall  act  as  interpreters  of  the  Sherman  Act,  but  that  important 
amendments  to  the  Sherman  Act  are,  necessary  in  order  to  per- 
mit the  magnitude  necessary  for  efficiency,  in  order  to  allow  the 
co-operation  imperative  for  conservation,  in  order  to  protect  the 
public. 


BIG  BUSINESS  409 

Powers  to  Be  Given  Gradually 

I  do  not  suppose  that  at  the  outset  the  commissions  created 
will  receive  all  the  powers  which  they  will  finally  possess.  In- 
deed, while  I  hold  to  the  above  principles,  at  first  I  should  be 
conservative  in  giving  powers  to  these  commissions.  The  powers 
would  be  based  upon  the  same  principles  that  have  been  applied 
in  the  pure  food  laws,  and  in  the  control  of  the  public  utilities. 
The  American  people  always  move  slowly  in  these  matters,  and 
step  by  step;  and  I  should  not  expect  that  these  trade  commis- 
sions, if  created,  would  at  once  be  granted  all  the  powers  which 
they  would  finally  exercise.  In  this  matter  I  should  expect  the 
same  slow  development  to  take  place  that  has  occurred  regard- 
ing the  commissions  which  control  the  public  utilities.  More 
than  forty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  creation  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission.  These  early  commissions  had  the  powers 
of  recommendation,  of  requiring  publicity,  etc.  Finally  the  com- 
missions of  Illinois  and  Iowa  were  given  the  power  to  control 
rates,  but  comparatively  little  came  of  this  authority.  It  was 
not  until  1905  that  in  Wisconsin  a  comprehensive  law  was  en- 
acted to  control  the  railroads.  The  passage  of  the  law  was 
strongly  resisted  by  the  companies,  because  of  the  fear  that  the 
proposed  commission  would  treat  them  unfairly,  but  the  act  was 
passed  despite  their  opposition.  Under  the  law,  there  were  ap- 
pointed in  that  state  by  Senator  R.  M.  La  Follette,  then  Gover- 
nor, a  scientific  commission  composed  of  three  men,  one  a  well- 
known  lawyer,  the  other  a  keen  statistician,  and  the  third  an 
eminent  professor  of  transportation.  I  have  heard  from  many 
of  the  railroad  men,  including  a  railroad  president  and  some  of 
the  ablest  railroad  lawyers,  that  the  Wisconsin  commission  has 
been  fair  and  reasonable  both  to  the  railroads  and  to  the  public. 
Neither  side  would  go  back  to  the  previous  situation — upon  one 
side  hold-up  bills  to  be  defeated  by  questionable  methods  at 
each  session  of  the  legislative ;  upon  the  other  side  numerous  re- 
bates and  discriminations.  Before  we  had  a  railroad  commission 
in  Wisconsin  there  was  continuous  war  between  the  people  and 
the  railroads.  Since  that  commission  has  been  created,  and 
especially  since  its  authority  has  been  extended  over  all  the  pub- 
lic utilities  of  the  state,  including  to  adjust  rates,  we  have  had 
peace. 

Similarly,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  had  small 


4io  PROCEEDINGS  AMERICAN  MINING  CONGRESS 

powers  at  first,  merely  powers  of  recommendation;  and  it  was 
only  six  years  ago  that  this  commission  finally  gained  the  power 
to  fix  maximum  rates;  and  at  the  present  time  the  commission 
have  not  the  power  to  initiate  rates.  The  initiative  rests  with  the 
railroads.  It  is  only  two  ye'ars  ago  that  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  gained  the  power  to  suspend  advances  of  rates 
pending  investigations  regarding  their  reasonableness.  Thus, 
stage  by  stage,  conservatively,  the  development  of  the  control 
of  public  utilities  by  administrative  commission  was  worked  out. 

Substantially  the  same  history  applies  to  the  pure  food  laws. 
Doubtless  the  extension  of  laws  of  this  class  will  go  on  until 
fabrics  are  included;  until  fraud  will  be  practically  eliminated 
through  the  use  of  false  names  for  any  commodity. 

I  would  have  the  proposed  trade  commissions  pass  through 
a  similar  history.  Thus,  precisely  as  with  the  Commerce  Com- 
missions, by  slow  development,  industry  where  co-operation  has 
so  extended  as  to  become  affected  with  a  public  interest  would 
be  controlled  by  trade  commissions  under  the  same  lawful 
methods  that  have  been  applied  to  the  public  utilities.  Concen- 
tration, co-operation,  and  control  are  presented  as  the  keyboard 
to  the  solution  of  our  great  industrial  problems. 


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